Let the 1st New Continent Games begin!
by tessa0710
Summary: Everyone is bored of the Hunger Games and the Capitol is looking for more entertainment. They found it in Europe, aka the New Continent. New Hunger Games are organized there and they will be bigger than before. They will change lives forever.
1. Introduction

The Hunger Games in Panem have never been worse since the 75th Quarter Quell. There was revolution, which was won by the rebels, and several years after that the Capitol took over again and continued the Games. However, its reputation was gone forever and after the tedious, month-lasting 97th Hunger Games, a enormous desicion was made: there would be new Hunger Games, held at the New Continent, a.k.a Europe. These Games would be bigger than before with 160 contestants, several rounds and arenas, and, again, only one victor.

The contestants would be from all 35 Districts of the New Continent. A few decades after present time and the phenomena that destroyed the nation of North-America, Europe began a terrible nuclear war against the Middle-East and during this war Panem began their Games. Europe (the New Continent) was terrified, but was too busy with the war to observe the situation in Panem. After two hundred years the New Continent wan the war, but was totally destroyed by the bombs and other destructions. The Capitol was imperealistic and wanted more ground, so they decided to take over the Continent in that weak state. They built a second Capitol, called the Head City, on a human-made island located northern of the British Islands. The names of the original countries vanished and they were all renamed after the Districts of Panem, so 35 Districts were made instead. Most of the original borders remained. The continent didn't resist much, because they knew the Capitol and the Head City would help to rebuild the destruction of the war. They slightly accepted the oppression. The Continent was, apart from the Districts, also devided in a western part and eastern part, marked with the ancient Berlin Wall. The western Districts are quite rich, healthy and strong, but the eastern Districts are very poor, dark and dangerous. Kids must learn how to control simple weapons to survive in the neighboorhood.

Then the Head City announced that, in negociation with the Captiol, they would organize new Games. It's already mentioned that there would be 160 contestants from 35 Districts, which makes around 5 per District. This is not the only horror: the group which a District must select, is a group of friends, girls, boys or mixed, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.

Indiana from District 4, former Netherlands, cannot believe it when she is reaped along with five of her friends. They get on a train to the Head City, where many obstacles are waiting for her: the press and the fame, but mostly the approaching death from the girls she loves.

When Indiana, astounded, makes it further than she could ever hope for in the Games, surviving the bloody preliminaries and remaining sane while some of her friends die, she discovers that she actually has a chance to win the frightening event. However, then she needs to take down one person: her best friend, Poppy.


	2. A perfect, normal day

I can remember well the first time I asked my mother about this place called the 'Head City'. I was seven and had had History class for the first time. The teacher told us about a place that was called 'Europe' before the Capitol/Head City took over. She took me on her lap and told me the Head City took good care of us. They helped rebuilding the whole Continent and kept order over all those Districts. I believed her and continued playing. However, I grew older and so did my knowledge about the political situation on the Continent, Panem and our District, District 4.

I was just falling asleep while doing my homework when my mother yelled from downstairs.

'Indiana! Come quick!'

I shook and looked up. My eyes were extremely sleepy, but I wanted to know what my mother was talking about. I noticed it was already dark outside and I looked out of the window before I closed the curtains. My window had the same view as many others had in our District – foggy, flat acres of agriculture. The specialization from our District, however, was education.

While making my way downstairs, I spotted myself in the mirror. I wasn't too happy about my appearance. My hair consisted of uncontrollable, light brown (dyed blonde) curls till my shoulders. My eyes were grey.

My parents and older sister were watching TV. They made some space for me on the couch.

'Look, they have a victor!' whispered my father.

'Really?' I said, and I stared at the television. A huge boy was raising a sword in the air, while another boy, who seemed dead, laid on the ground. I got sick and looked down.

'The Games are over' said my sister. It sounded like she didn't believe it 'They've lasted a month. I heard that the Capitol is pretty annoyed by the tedious events.'

'It's not the first year' murmured my mother 'It has been bad since several years.'

'But this is the worst ever' said my father and he looked kinda angry. He hated the Games, but I knew he was just as glad as everybody else on the Continent that the Games were held far, far away. It was something that you'd spot on one channel only, you would check how far they were and then skip on to another channel. The Games were absolutely disgusting, and I couldn't do anything about it. I would be horrified if I lived in Panem.

'Which edition is it? 97th, right?' I asked, and my father nodded.

'Well, I'm going to bed. I have to go to school tomorrow.' I stood up, wished everyone goodnight and got in my bed. I dreamed about green meadows and rain.

The next morning it was sunny. I got on my bike and cycled to the point where I would meet Poppy, so we could cycle together. It was about five miles to school. It was not too cold, not too hot. It was going to be a perfect, ordinary day.

'Good morning!' someone shouted, and I turned around. Poppy approached my while her long, blonde hair followed her in the wind.

'Hi' I said and we rode away.

'Did you see the ending of the Games? I totally didn't expect it' Poppy said enthusiastically.

'Eh, yeah, I did see something. The giant from seven wan, right?' I stumbled.

'Yes! His name is Icaro. He was the one who threw those rocks to the girl from one.'

Unlike me, Poppy followed the Games every single year and knew everything about them.

'This year really sucked' she continued. 'Yeah' I said 'I've heard that before. What would they do to make things more exiting? Let them fight each other with guns?'

Poppy giggled. 'Don't know. That would be fun, actually.'

We laughed and cycled the last miles to our school. We both went to a Grammar School, although I'm convinced I'm way too dumb to get my diploma. I've passed the exams each year, and it was a miracle each time.

In the hall we met Sophie, one of our friends.

'Hello' she said.

'What's up?' I said.

'I'm waiting for Lisa. I need her chemistry notitions, because I didn't understand my own.'

Lisa was another friend of ours and she was 'the smart one'. Funny thing is that she wasn't a nerd at all. She was just extremely intelligent, tiny and bubbly.

Poppy grabbed a notebook out of her bag. 'Here, you can have mine. Ignore the drawings.' Poppy was also smart, but in a different way. She could look at a mathematical problem and know the answer within seconds, while I had to calculate for hours to get the wrong answer.

Sophie smiled. 'Thanks. You've saved my life.'

The three of us walked to the auditorium, where we met Gabriella and Annie. We were always with six girls, the only one missing now was Lisa. She was probably late.

Annie and Poppy immediately started talking about the Games. Annie was sort of a jock, she was very good at sports and had a good condition. She also followed the Games, so she and Poppy had a lot to talk about. I looked at Gabriella and she looked back, saying with her eyes 'I don't get it'. We laughed.

Apart from Poppy, Gabriella was my best friend. She was very dumb and naïve, but a sweet girl and easy to hang out with. You could have great fun with her. 'The first period we'll have math class' she said 'he'll be returning our tests. I failed, I know it already. I can feel it.'


	3. Unexpected reaping

As soon as the bell rang, we made our way to math class and met Lisa while she was running through the corridor.

'Am I late?' she yelled, and we all laughed.

We entered the class room, sat down, stood up again to sing the daily morning anthem and sat down. The teacher returned our tests one by one. Gabriella, who was sitting next to me, had a D. The teacher dumped my paper on my table and I saw a big, black F on it.

'This was absolutely worthless, you know that?' he shouted. I turned red.

The lesson began and soon I started whispering to everyone in sight. I knew it wasn't smart because I had to pay attention, but it felt relieving

Suddenly the principal came in. We looked up from our books.

'Class four?' he asked our teacher.

'Yes'

'The next two periods are cancelled.' he announced.

The whole class started cheering. I high-fived Lisa and brofisted Sophie. The principal seemed annoyed. 'I wasn't finished yet!' he exclaimed, and continued: 'There will be a meeting in the auditorium and you must all be present. Now, I am going to call your names in groups and you must sit with your group as soon as you arrive at the auditorium.'

It became silent. I didn't know what to think, but was kinda excited. A meeting?

'The first group consists out of these boys…' he called the five names of the 'cool' boys.

'Then, the second group consists out of all the girls in this class, lets see: Annie, Poppy, Gabriella, Sophie, Indiana, Lisa?'

My mind figured the group-system out in a few seconds, but before I could speak up, Annie did. 'They are dividing us in groups of friends' she whispered. 'Why?'

We spent the rest of the period in excitement, whispers and not-paying-attention. When the bell rang, it was a relief and we all made our way to the auditorium. We were just making our way through the overcrowded main corridor when Gabriella said: 'Look! Is that a _peacekeeper?' _

I recognized the tall, big man with the white armour immediately, but it was weird seeing them outside of Panem or the Head City. I had never seen them this close.

We entered the auditorium, which was full of noises and conversations. We chose to sit at the edge of the space, where it was less crowded. I was just looking for my boyfriend Alex who should be here too, when Poppy noticed that there were no freshmen.

'What is this all about?' Annie asked herself. I raised an eyebrow and continued the search for Alex. I found him at the other side of the room with four of his best friends. I laughed to him. He was seventeen, two years older than me, but I've known him my whole life. It was close to our one-year anniversary and I was planning something really special.

The principal appeared on the stage. He seemed terribly nervous.

'Well…erm, we are here together because we need to inform you about a message the Capitol has sent to the Head City.' He wasn't good at speeching. 'It's about the Hunger Games.'

Suddenly, everyone was silent. I could hear my heart beating. What was happening?

'The Capitol let us know that the people are bored with the Games, and that they want something new, something bigger. Something fresh to present to the world. And they think the Head City could give them that, in cooperation with the New Continent: our Continent.'

It became even more silent. How was that even possible?

The principal looked like he was about to faint and he was sweaty like he had something horrible to say and didn't want to do it. However, he still continued.

'And a plan was made. To make a very long and difficult story short, there are going to be new Games. They will be called 'The New Continent Games'. These Games will become legendary, people from all over the world will watch, and at this moment right now, the Games are being announced everywhere. It appears that it will indeed become enormous. However, there is one important thing. And it will affect you all.' he started stumbling.

'The-there will be 160 tributes, around 5 per District, and they will come from all 35 Districts of the New Continent. Including District 4.'

Suddenly it was all chaos around me and everyone started running, shouting, crying and trying to escape, but that was impossible because peacekeepers had blocked the exit of the auditorium. I was too confused to realize this all. New Games? 160 contestants?

'And…' screamed the principal, even louder than the noise 'our school has been selected to provide District 4s tributes!'

And it was all silent again. Everybody freezed. I didn't know how my friends were reacting, I was just so shocked my mouth was a big, round hole.

It seemed that the principal wanted to hurry up so this could be all over. A staff member carried a bowl stuffed with small pieces of paper on the stage and put it on a table in front of the principal. We all knew what the function of the bowl was. My name, next to those of my five friends, was written on one of these little pieces of paper.

'The five or six tributes aren't randomly chosen: they will be friends. 35 groups of friends will be fighting for their lives, but only one tribute can remain out of all these kids. Now I am going to pick a paper and the group I pick will be immediately isolated. They are going to the Head City…tonight' Okay. Relax. This was just a dream. And even if this wasn't a dream, the chance it was my group was little, even though it was _our _school who had to provide, out of thousands of schools! It was not fair.

The principal looked in the bowl, picked a paper, dropped it and picked another. He showed it to the students who were breathlessly waiting. While he stared at the names on the paper, I realized why there were no freshmen. They were probably all eleven or twelve years old, too young to be in these Games. Then I heard it.

The first name the principal called was Annie. And when the second name turned out to be Poppy, everything became black.

**New chapter tomorrow, sorry if I made some grammar mistakes. I've written the original story in Dutch, so I have to translate it.**


	4. Goodbyes

The peacekeepers led us out of the auditorium while everybody was staring at us. So many emotions. Pain, surprisement, shock, relief. And it was silent.

They brought the six of us to a small, dark room next to the principals office. The only furniture were a table and a couple of chairs. We were shaking when we sat down and said nothing. Then the peacekeepers left and the principal came in. He closed the door and looked at us with an expression on his face that shouted: 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry!'

Lisa was crying and he handed her a paper.

'I can't tell you how much I regret this.' he said 'We got the message a week ago and it was absolutely impossible to decline it.'

'Is it really true? Are there going to be New Games?' asked Annie as if she didn't believe it.

'Yes, and like I said before, the whole continent is being informed right now. It appears that the citizens of the Head City and the Capitol are almost dying of excitement.'

I felt an urge to vomit. It was disgusting.

'And our parents?' noticed Sophie 'What about them?'

'They will be informed soon. I have to leave you now. I need to…inform the Head City about District 4s tributes. The tributes will be revealed as soon as they arrive there.'

It seemed like he wanted to cry too when he turned around, opened the door and vanished.

Now Gabriella was crying, along with Lisa. Poppy and Annie had a stone expression on their face and Sophie and I tried to keep our eyes dry.

I was still confused, but then I realized it. We were going to die. We were all going to die. There was a really, really small chance that one of us would survive, but there would be five deaths anyway. I was going to die. It seemed so surreal that this morning it promised to be a perfectly normal day. I stared at the five faces of my friends and couldn't help it. I made a list in my head, a death order. And Gabriella was at number one. She was dumb, weak and slow. I knew enough of Panems Games to understand that she, the sweet girl, was going to die first.

She probably ranked first on everyone's list.

I didn't even want to know where I ranked.

After hours of sitting in the cold, silent, dark room, the door opened again and a peacekeeper told us to leave the room. It had been so silent the past hours I shook when I heard the noise of his voice. We stood up, still shaking, and walked out.

'You have three minutes'

It was twilight and the small corridor was filled with people. I recognized them immediately: all our parents and siblings. When I saw mine, I ran to them and hugged my mother. It was a warm and welcoming hug and my heart burned when I thought of that I would never experience this again. I would die coldly in an arena, if that was were they would bring us.

There was so much love in the corridor. Sophie's parents cried while embracing their daughter for the last time.

'Listen' whispered my father 'there will be 160 contestants. You can win it. You can do it. Please, you have to try. Believe in yourself.'

I nodded, but knew I was totally lying. I wasn't smart, strong, sly or anything like that. I had absolutely no chance of winning. And certainly not with 160 others.

'Two minutes.' announced a peacekeeper.

'Take care' said my sister, and I hugged her too. The other families were saying the same, comforting but useless words to their daughters. I wanted this moment to last forever, but when the peacekeeper said we had one minute left, I started to panic.

They opened the doors and I felt the cold November wind.

'We love you' said my mother 'And we will always do. We'll be watching every moment…We will be there.' The four of us embraced each other and let go when someone ordered us to get out to the cars. I kept looking at my parents until I was outside and the doors closed. Then I turned around because I heard someone call my name.

That someone was running to me very fast and had a red face. It was Alex. He was about fifty meters away. 'Alex!' I screamed and wanted to run too, but before I could start some peacekeepers grabbed my arms. I kicked and struggled, but they wouldn't let me go. Some others ran to Alex and made him stop approaching me. 'Indy!' he screamed. 'Let her go, scumbags! Indiana!'

The peacekeepers dragged me to the car while I was still struggling. 'No, no!' I screamed, but then they pushed me in the car and closed the door. I saw Alex running to the car, but it drove away.

At that moment I started crying. I managed to keep my eyes dry the past hours, but now it was impossible. I kept crying for about ten minutes. I would never see him again. Why couldn't I just say goodbye? Annie and Sophie, who were in the car with me, comforted me with soft voices, but it didn't help.

'Where are we going?' asked Annie. The driver answered: 'The train.'

We kept driving for an hour. It was around eight o'clock and it was dark outside. I could see the flat, foggy, green meadows passing by and I knew I was going to miss them too when I could leave District 4 tonight for the Head City.

Finally we left the car and I don't remember how I managed to walk a short distance from the car to the train without dying from hurt and sorrow.

Then I saw the train from the outside for the first time. It was modern, long…it was one of the Intermanche trains you would see on television, were the Head City could talk hours about its speed, design and luxury.

A woman was waiting for us at the entrance.

'Welcome, welcome girls!' she said with a happy voice 'Welcome abord on the Intermanche! My name is Euphoria, I will be your escort! Please, _entrez' _

When no one made a move, I stepped forward and shook her hand. 'Hello, honey. Please, proceed.'

How the hell could this woman be so enthusiastic about this all? I entered the train and was immediately amazed by its luxury. There was a bar coupé, there was a television coupé.

A staff member leaded me trough the small corridors and showed me another coupé, which looked like a hotel room. Behind my back I heard the noises of the other girls who were entering this extravagant train.

'This will be your coupé. You can sleep as long as you wish.' said the staff member, and he closed the door. I was alone again.

The moments after that I spent worrying, thinking and already missing everyone. And just as I was watching out of my window, everything started moving. The train was making its way to the Head City.


	5. Journey to the Head City part 1

I woke up when the sun was already shining in my coupé. People often say that it sometimes takes a while before you remember where you are when you wake up, but I knew exactly where I was. I was on a train, heading to the Head City and, on top of that, my death.

I got up, put the clothes on I wore yesterday to school and opened the door of my coupé.

I started discovering the amazing train, but stopped by the breakfast coupé. There were only two people, who sat at the table: Poppy and a man with dark hair. They were talking to each other. When I entered, they both looked up.

'Hello. Who are you?' said the man. He seemed to be in his forties.

'Indiana' I answered, while I nervously looked down.

'Well, sit down' he responded, and pointed to a chair. As soon as I sat down, Poppy got up.

'Thank you, mr. Devasth. Excuse me.'

And she was gone.

'I told her about a hundred times she should call me Chase.' He sighed. Then she stared at me for a long time. 'How old are you?' he asked.

'I'm fifteen.' I answered. I was shy. 'The other girls are also fifteen, apart from Poppy and Lisa. They are fourteen.'

'And there's six of you?' he asked.

'Yes.'

'Ok. Well, I will me your mentor the following weeks. I won the Hunger Games twenty years ago or-so. District 9. They asked almost every living victor to be mentor in this event.'

I said nothing.

'That friend of yours- Poppy, I don't know exactly what it is, bus she seems…experienced. How is that possible?'

'She watched the Games every single year since she was five.'

'I don't know if you noticed it yet, but she is a very sly girl and she's going to make it far.'

I started laughing. 'What? Poppy?'

He looked offended. 'I can see those things better than you do. I've been analyzing tributes for over twenty years. And I can clearly see that she is one of the most sadistic ones I've ever met.'

I was laughing so hard I didn't notice Sophie coming in. 'Hi' she said and took some breakfast. Soon after that, the other girls arrived too and Poppy joined us again.

'Will you pass me the jam?' she asked me in her always-friendly-way. 'Of course' I said and looked at Chase like I wanted to say: 'You see?'

While we were eating Euphoria came in. She wore a dress that was so pink it gave me a headache. 'Good morning, Girls! I see you've already met Chase, your wonderful mentor. Oh, this is going to be such a nice day. Tomorrow morning, we will be arriving at the Head City, where so many beautiful things are waiting for you. Unfortunately, the preliminaries will be in four days, so that is kinda quick.'

'What's up with those preliminaries then?' asked Gabriella.

Euphoria looked anxious, the same as our principal did when he had unpleasant news.

'Er, well, many tributes will die in the preliminaries. It will be great if one of you makes it to the actual Games.'

Suddenly everyone dropped their toast and froze. It felt like my organs were made of ice.

'What?' some of us eventually said. 'One of us? The actual Games?'

'Oh, come on' Euphoria was irritated 'Do you really think the Gamemakers are planning to throw 160 tributes in the arena? They expect that around 40 tributes will make it to the actual arena. Most tributes die in the preliminaries. Now, let us continue with the breakfast.'

This was horrible. I had hoped that I could survive for a couple of days in the arena and then die from starvation of something, but the idea of dying in four days was unbearable.

What was going to happen in these preliminaries?

I spent the rest of the day exploring the train with Gabriella. Then we entered a coupé with a huge television, we sat down and turned it on. The channel, called 'Head City TV 3', showed an enormous crowd on a train station.

'Wait' I said 'Is that…the train station where we'll arrive tomorrow?'

'I don't know' said Gabriella. Of course not.

Someone on the television started talking.

'Well, District 25s train can be arriving any moment, and look at the crowd that's waiting to welcome them! All these people gathered here to get a glimpse of the tributes who everybody will be talking about. Well, later this day the trains from 19 and 31 will be arriving. Tomorrow we will welcome the trains from 2, 4,' –that was us!- '11, 24 and 29.'

'We're going to be famous, aren't we?' Gabriella asked. I said nothing.


	6. Journey to the Head City part 2

When we finished dinner, Chase stood up and announced that we must follow him to the bar coupé. Euphoria also stood up. 'It was delicious. Well, good luck with mister Devasth, girls.'

We murmered something like 'thanks' and followed our mentor. I looked out of the window and saw it was already getting dark. Tomorrow morning we would be arriving at the Head City while the whole world was watching. I would almost say that was even scarier than the Games. However, my family and Alex would be watching, they would see I'm fine.

We sat down on the couch and Chase took place in a sofa in front of us. He looked like one of those professional psychologists.

'Well, you might be wondering what we're going to do.' he said. We nodded.

'I've been ordered to discuss some basic tactics and details with you, informally, you know. Just chatting.' Again, we nodded. I became curious.

'You can ask me anything related to the Games.' he contiuned 'Although I'm not able to answer everything perfectly. I am not perfect.' and while he said that, he showed us numerous scars on the back of his arm. I became sick immideately.

'Yeah. The Hunger Games are rough, even if you survive. Many victors are insane, or addicted. You are lucky to have me. I used to be depressive. A cutter. However, I am completely clean from all of that now. It is now all about you.'

'What is the first thing we're going to do when we arrive?' asked Sophie.

Chase raised an eyebrow. 'Sophie, wasn't it? Well, most of the programme is still secret, but you will be analyzed by some professional medicicians before the preliminaries and you will live in the Tribute Center, which also includes a Training Centre, but that will be used after the preliminaries.'

'Analized by doctors?' somebody asked nervously.

'Yes' said Chase, irritated 'They check if you are healthy. I don't know why they do that anyway, because most of the tributes will die. And they assign you a weapon which suits you best, based on some personality tests.'

'We won't train?' asked Poppy.

'No. You will be training if you survive the preliminaries. However, in the actual Games you might not get your assigned weapon from the Cornucopia, so don't focus on that.'

He remained silent for a couple of seconds. 'It was all so different twenty years ago' he said dreamy. It was impossible for me to imagine him standing in an arena as a victor.

'However, useful skills remain the same. Strength is not everything. Intellicence could also bring you to the finals.

'How's it like to kill somebody?' Annie asked. Everybody stared at her, including Chase. She asked something that none of us dared to ask.

'You can only kill something that breathes, lives and thinks if your heart is made of stone. I fucking killed six humans.' Everbody shook.

'Don't be stupid' he continued 'Don't try to form alliances with each other in the preliminaries or the actual Games. If you are in an arena, you will change and maybe kill each other off. Spare your friend from yourself. In case one of you will win and live on, you won't be the same person. Never again.'

It was silent.

'When I was your age, the best chance of survival was to be in the Career Pack. I wasn't part of the Career pack, but used my knowledge of edible plants to survive. I would kill if someone passed my camp. One night, the Careers got in a fight with each other and killed each other off. When they were finished and all dead, I waited in the bushes 'till the only other remaining tribute passed by. I killed him and became the victor.'

'Why wants the Head City groups of friends in their Games?' asked Lisa.

'That is a simple one. More heartbreaking, terrifying, dramatic moments. I could give you a dozen reasons, but I won't do that.

'What's the Head City like?' I wanted to know. I saw it many times on the television, but could never imagine it in real life.

'Magnificent' answered Chase 'Really magnicifent. Those bastards got everything they want. Spas, majestic buildings, no groups of friends to sent into an arena.'

'But where will the Games be held? Where is the arena located?' asked Poppy.

'Everywhere. There are several locations. The preliminaries are being held somewhat away from the Head City, but on the island. I'm not allowed to tell you the details. There are strong rumours though, that one of the arenas is located in District 15.'

District 15! A District!

'Of course I will be travelling to District 15 as well in case one of you survives the preliminaries. It is confirmed that it won't be the same as in Panem, where the tributes are dropped in the arena and remain there 'till one remains. There will be several rounds, although one of them resembles the system of Panem.'

This information was all very mysterious and I didn't get it all. I was starting to get tired while Chase began telling us something about weapons.

'…But I see it's already getting too late. You must wake early, we'll be arriving at nine a.m and you need to be ready by then.'

We stood up and thanked him. Chase laughed. 'I really hope one of you makes it through the preliminaries.' he said. It made me feel uncomfortable.

'Goodnight.' we said to each other.

**Tomorrow they will be arriving at the Head City, and I'll consider publishing some background information about the New Continent in a few days. **


	7. Arrival

I couldn't sleep that night. Although the whole train was dark, I kept the lights on and walked around until a servant came in who gave me a book so I wouldn't be bored the rest of the night. 'The others will get it towmorrow' he said 'But please, be quiet and try to sleep.'

I sat down on the bed and looked at the book. It was about a hundred pages and the title was 'A despcription of the 97th Annual Hunger Games'. I found a note inside it. It was made of thick paper and had the Head City mark in the top corner.

_Dear Tribute who's about to participate in the 1st New Games,_

_You've been given the exceptional honour to participate in the very first Games of the New Continent. You ought to be happy that you are given such an experience. We, the Head City, wish you much luck with your journey to fame, fortune and honour. This description of the most recent Hunger Games may help you in that journey. You'll find tactics, methods and the stories of the tributes. And, of course, may the odds be ever in your favour._

_Note: Although most of the programme of the New Games is still secret, you must know that the events in this book are different from the ones you are going to face. Don't focus on them._

I started reading and eventually stopped when I saw the sun appearing at the horizon. I looked out of the window. I didn't reconize the landscape – I hadn't been out of District 4 since I was seven. We used to have a second house in District 10, but they decided to guard the borders more strictly eight years ago. The visits to our holiday home stopped. District 10 was partly mountain, partly flat. It was beautiful.

A few hours later Euphoria knocked on my door and said I had to prepare myself because we would soon be arriving at the Head City. I sighed, stood up and walked to the breakfast coupé. Everybody seemed tense. Gabriella looked like she was about to vomit. They were watching some programme on today's arrivals on the television. A presenter stood next to a man.

'I am here at the train station, along with Leopeth Mackenzie. Leopeth, as a member of the ministry of District Relations, you've travelled a lot to District 4, who will be arriving in half an hour, can you tell us about it?'

'Well, District 4 is quite small, but quite tight-populated. It has about 17 million inhabitants, the people are healthy and strong. It is a typical Western District…'

'What are the expectations – the tributes?'

'Most say District 4 sent boys, but there are also rumours it will be girls.'

'So it is not confirmed yet. Right, back to the studio while we're waiting here along with the crowd!'

Someone turned the television off. 'All these people…!' said Lisa.

'Get used to it' spoke Chase 'What if you survive the preliminaries, what if you win? This is just the beginning. Don't you realize how big this is?'

We ae a few minutes in silence, until Annie shouted: 'There it is!'

My heart started beating and we all ran to the big windows. And it was true. We could see an enormous lake and behind the lake there was the Head City. I saw it so many times on television, but in real it was even more beautiful. It was enormous. When we drove closely, I spotted a waterfall in the middle of the city, which turned into a river as soon as it hits the ground and the river ended in the lake. Most of the buildings were light brown, built in classical style. I was so overwhelmed I sat down again.

'Ah, I'm home' said Euphoria. Chase murmured something like: 'even worse than the Capitol.'

Then we could see the enormous train station and Euphoria ordered us to line up by the door. Nobody wanted to be first, but eventually Lisa ended up being first. I stood fifth, with Annie behind me.

'Now. There are several very important things you have to remember in an instant. At the platform you will be greeted by Franq Pillano, the secretary-general and Head Gamemaker. Don't be afraid the crowd will attack you, the peacekeepers have it under control. Try to smile, don't look tense or afraid. You have to make a good impression. Get out of the train one by one and _do not trip!'_

The train shook and stood still. We could hear the noises of the crowd behind the door.

A voice sounded in the station. 'The Intermanche 4.1 from District 4 has arrived.'

The door opened and I almost became deaf. The countless people on the station were cheering so loud. We were blinded by flashlights. Sophie poked Lisa in her back. Lisa looked terrified, but took a deep breath and got out of the train. Then Sophie, then Gabriella. Poppy didn't seem afraid at all. Now it was my turn. I stepped on the platform and tried to smile. I saw all those faces, who were excited about the people they were going to kill. I felt an urge to show them my middle finger, but didn't do it. I walked on, while looking nervously at the peacekeepers. They looked strong, but did they really have control?

A tall, thin man surrounded by more peacekeepers was waiting for us. He shook our hands one by one. He kissed Euphoria on her cheek and greeted Chase like an old friend.

So this was the man who would be responsible for our death.

'Welcome, District 4' he said 'please, continue your way out, while exploring the magnificent Head City. I hope your stay will be a nice one.'

Chase pushed us so we would walk on and we entered the station hall, which was so enormous it bedazzled me. So much luxury. I knew District 4 was quite rich and I had nothing to complain about. Panems Districts were way poorer, even the richest, District 1, was poor compared to us. But this was decadence, maybe even richer and bigger than the Capitol.

An enormous, really enormous painting hang on one of the walls. I knew that face well. The thick, dark eyebrows, long, black hair and a moustache. This older man was the President of the New Continent. I believe he was the cousin of Panems actual president.

It was warm outside the station building and we got into two cars who would bring us to the Tribute center. Annie, Poppy and Euphoria got in the same car as I did and the moment the doors closed, it was silent again. The windows were darkened, which was nice.

'You did very well, girls' Euphoria said.


	8. Time goes by

On a moment like this I couldn't bring myself to think about the preliminaries. They were so far away, we had days to be the center of attention…it was going to be all right. The car drove for a few minutes until it stopped.

'The Four Windcorners Court' announced the driver 'Tribute Center'

We got out. It was november, and I had absolutely no idea how they did it, but it felt like summer. The sun was shining and it was very warm. Behind us Lisa, Gabriella and Sophie got out of the car. I looked around. We stood in some sort of garden. In front of us was a very high building. It looked modern. The garden was surrounded by a stone wall.

'To protect you from paparazzi.' said Chase, and he ordered us to follow him inside.

The hall of the building was airy and white. There wasn't much furniture, except for some elevators. 'We got the 24th floor' said Euphoria and we got in one of the elevators.

Our floor was amazing. It had light wooden furniture and a dazzling view. We chose our rooms. 'Remember, tonight we will go to the research centre for the health checks. I expect you'll be ready when we call you.' said Euphoria.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with Poppy and Gabriella. We avoided the subjects 'preliminaries', 'death', 'the Games' and 'health check'. We just chatted about the Head City.

Although I was good friends with everyone who came here with me, Poppy and Gabriella were my best friends. They were so different from each other: Poppy was very clever and icy, while Gabriella was dumb and sort of immature. Annie, Sophie and Lisa were also very good friends, but not as good as those two.

The health checks were held in an enormous building called 'Proton Research Centre', a few miles away from the City. I saw the other tributes for the first time when we all had to wait for our turn in an enormous hall with no windows. It reminded me of a gymnasium, but then without sport things. There were so many children, and they were all going to die. There was much difference between them. You had young, thirteen year olds who looked like they had to pee in their pants, and muscular seventeen year old boys, and everything in between.

I was nervous when they called me, but it wasn't scary at all. They weighted me, took my length, listened to my heart and made me fill in some personality test so they could assign me a weapon for the preliminaries. I was one of the last persons to be called, and when I was finished, the hall was almost empty. I had to pee, so I went to the bathroom. There were no female or male bathrooms, just one. When I entered, I saw Poppy standing there next to a long boy. He looked mediterranean and had dark hair.

'O, Indiana' she said 'this is Mason, I just met him. He's a tribute from District 2.'

Mason nodded to me, but he didn't look very interested.

'I'll see you' he said to Poppy. Then he walked away. I waited until he was gone.

'What a creep' I whispered. Poppy's smile disappeared and she looked angrily at me.

'You are so superficial' she said after a while, and she also walked away.

The days after that flew away like they were made out of sand. Suddenly the clock went two times faster than normal. The preliminaries, where most of us would die, were unrealistically close now. We spent the days reading or chatting. Chase wasn't allowed to give us advice, but he said that survival skills wouldn't matter in the preliminaries. I started to wonder what was going to happen there. He wasn't allowed either to tell us something about survival skills in case one of us would survive. I was anxious for the preliminaries because it was almost certain I was going to die. Maybe I wouldn't have to suffer from the death of my friends if I would die first.

On the last night everybody was even more tense than in the train. Lisa walked around the living room the whole time, which was extremely annoying. Sophie couldn't stop biting her nails. I sat on the couch with some chocolate milk in my hands. It was incredible we didn't realize what was coming the past days. One by one we went to bed, but I knew no one would be able to sleep. I went last.

The window in my room was open and I could hear the happy and excited cheers of the parties in the city. The wind brought them to my ears. I had a lovely view. I could see the waterfall and the lake. Tiny, yellow lights were floating on the water. The lights of the city lit up the dark night.

It looked so peaceful and calm.

'It's beautiful, isn't it?' said a soft voice. Chase was standing behind me. 'Yes' I sighed, while I stared at the moon and the stars.

'It's just a façade. They don't seem to realize how horrible their Games are.' said he.

'Tomorrow is the big day. The opening of the Games. I bet they are excited to death.' I said.

'They are. It will be a long day.'

That was the last thing he said.

I knew it was going to be my very last night and I had to enjoy it, but I still couldn't sleep.

**Hey guys, I won't be updating for two days because of a family visit, but I'll be back soon.**


	9. Let the Games begin!

When I noticed it was dawn, I tried to remain calm. I got up and put some comfortable clothes on – simple shirt and pants, running shoes. The thing that irritated me the most after my fear was that I had absolutely no idea what I was about to face today.

When I heard people downstairs, I sighed and made my way down.

In five minutes, everyone gathered together and Euphoria said a hovercraft was waiting for the tributes to take us to the place were the preliminaries were held. We took the lift downstairs, while everybody looked pale and sick from fear and tension. We knew we were all going to die today and maybe one of us would survive.

I had never seen a hovercraft in my life. It was big, round and dynamic. I noticed the other tributes who were boarding the thing also looked ill.

We walked to a very long space with seats on both sides. I couldn't find my friends anymore in the crowd who were pushing each other through the slim space, so I sat down in a random seat. Next to me sat a red-haired girl and on the other side a thirteen-year old boy with freckles. He reminded me of Alex' brother. I shook my head. I must not think about Alex or the pain he must be in right now.

The doors closed and the room became darker. Some blue lights were turned on and it all looked very futuristic. Then I saw Lisa, who was sitting five seats away. I tried to smile to her, but I couldn't bring myself to a happy face. I also spotted Poppy, who sat on the other side of the room, next to that District 2 boy Mason. They were talking to each other and they didn't look as sad as the other tributes. Suddenly people with injection needles came in.

'These are trackers' a man said 'so we can follow your actions'.

My heart started bouncing. I couldn't stand needles. The people came quickly closer and when they injected me, I closed my eyes. When they were finished, I touched the skin where they planted my tracker. I could literally feel a flat, tiny, square thing underneath my skin. It was absolutely disgusting.

After some time I felt the familiar feeling of a landing plane. The redhead next to me looked like she was about to vomit. Then, the hovercraft landed and the motors became silent.

'District 1' said a robotic voice and the door opened. Some boys, slightly older than me, got up and walked to the exit. I tried to think of something else than the preliminaries, so I thought of the Districts. OK, District 1. Used to be….United Kingdom.

'District 2' said the voice, and another group of boys stood up. I raised my head and saw Mason who made his way to the exit. District 2…I couldn't remember.

'District 3'

District 3 consisted out of boys and girls, which surprised me. Apparently there were also some groups with both genders. District 3 used to be Belgium, it was next to our District. Then I remembered District 2. 2 was once called France. I knew what was next.

District 4 was announced and I got up. I also spotted the others and together we walked to the exit. All the other tributes were staring while we passed.

When we stepped into the sunlight, I immediately saw what was going to happen in the preliminaries.

We stood in front of an enormous maze. I couldn't see how big it was because it reached so far. The hedges were four meters tall and there were so many entrances I couldn't count them. We were standing on a grass field, which was enclosed by the maze and galleries were all the important people from the Head City sat. I recognized the president in the distance.

I tried to remain calm and sat down on the grass with the others while all the tributes got out of the hovercraft. Most groups followed our example and sat down also, others hugged each other and whispered goodbyes to each other. When the tributes from District 35 (I believe that used to be Denmark), the last one got out, the Hovercraft flew away. You could hear the wind.

'Chase!' said Sophie. I looked up and saw him running to us.

'Listen' he said 'this is probably the last time I will ever see you. Maybe I'll see one or, in case we're lucky, two of you back. You can't survive just by hiding around the corner.'

'Where are our weapons?' asked Lisa, terrified. Chase pointed at the entrances of the maze. A weapon laid in front of every entrance. 'That are the weapons which were determined for you during the health check.

'They will register every kill you make and they will crown two winners at the Chariot rides in a few days, the highest scoring boy and girl. In case you kill, you get either one, two or three points, the judges will decide. When you kill someone from your own District, a friend, you will get fifteen points. The winners will get something that protects them during the first days in the real Games, so you can decide whether it's worth killing so many.'

I became a bit sick. 'I'm happy I can spend my last moments with you' I said to my friends.

They nodded. Then the president started speaking. He stood on a platform.

'Welcome Tributes, from all Districts of the New Continent.'

We were probably live all over the world, but I couldn't find any cameras. I hoped my parents and Alex saw me.

'This is the very first time we'll see preliminaries in the history of Games!' spoke the president. Did he realize how terrible this was. Really, the Head City was even worse than the Capitol.

'The rules are simple. You will spend six hours in the maze. It is now 3 o'clock excactly, so at nine we will meet the tributes who are going to participate in the real Games. You can walk in every direction you want. There will be a cannon every time someone dies.' he continued.

'You can see the numerous entrances. In front of every entrance is a weapon and a name plate. Find your entrance and enter it. It is not hard.'

He was right. I already spotted my name.

'And…the man and woman who gathered most points are crowned during the Chariot Rides, winning a protective artifact which they can use during the first days of the Games!' he announced. I looked around. Most of the tributes hadn't moved, but I spotted some eyes who burnt from desire.

'Then there's one thing left for me to do – wishing you and the world the thing they were looking forward to for weeks now! And as soon as I did it, you can start running to get your weapon and enter the maze. Get ready.' We all stood up.

'Happy 1st New Continent Games _and may the odds be ever in your favour!'_

**Tomorrow I will include the background information on the New Continent :D**


	10. Background informations

The New Continent is the place where the 1st New Games are organized. It is located eastern from Panem and was previously called 'Europe' before the Capitol took over, who founded the Head City. The New Continent counts 35 Districts, together slightly bigger than whole Panem.

The New Continent was originally called Europe. The disaster that destroyed the continent of America (which became Panem) didn't hit Europe, 'cause all the countries lived on like they used to. The continent was very rich, altough they had lost an important trade partner.

But life went on and the inhabitants, meanwhile already over two billion, watched horrified when the Capitol announced the Hunger Games. Europe never supported the Games, but didn't want to say anything about it, 'cause they had something else to do. In those days, World War three broke out between Europe and some countries that used to be the Middle East. Both used nuclear bombs, which caused the destruction of many people, cities and agriculture. Europe was too busy saving their own grounds from deadly bombings, so the Capitol could do whatever they wanted. After 80 years, the big war was over and Europe won, but what was left of the continent was scarce.

The Capitol, imperialistic and arrogant, wanted more area, so they decided to take over the weak nation of Europe. They succeeded without much effort and everything changed from that day. It was around 3000 when the Capitol announced that The New Continent was also going to be splitted in Districts and that a continental government would decide over them. A place called 'The Head City' was built, as an European Capitol. Europe didn't resist, hoping that this Head City would clean the mess from the war up, and they hope they wouldn't be so poor after all. They were true, 'cause the Districts weren't so poor as in Panem. They were poorer than before, but lived a comfortable life (exept for the eastern Districts). The Head City grew more independent from the Capitol and eventually saw the Capitol as their partner and not their ´mother´. No one resisted to all those changes, but at a certain moment one District had te courage to rebel: District 16 (White Russia) organized a revolution. This became a big mistake, because the Head City sent hovercrafts with powerful bombs and within eight minutes the whole District was radioactive, 'cause the bombs made the power plants explode, so the radiation spread quickly. Almost the whole population died, except for a few people in the scarce places that weren't influenced by the rays. Any District that ever planned to rebell, didn't do it because of the horrors in District 16. Then a nature disaster vanished most of District 26, that remained, but is unpopulated. After a hunderd years, the Head City announced that the borders from the Districts were going to be guarded more strict and travelling was forbidden from that moment on. The reason for this decision is unknown. That was seven years before the message was spread that Panem was bored of its games (the 97th Hunger Games were the last to take place) and that they wanted something new in the form of New Continent Games. This idea went on and the 1st New Games were held

Demography

The original borders from before the Capitol's takeover remained, altough some small changes were made. The small countries, such as Luxembourg and Andorra, vanished. Some old countries got more terrain, like France and Ukraine. Most islands, like Corsica, are unpopulated.

There are bigger and smaller Districts, and they all have their own speciality, just like Panem. The biggest District is 2 (France), followed by 7 (Sweden) and 20 (Ukraine). The border between east and west is marked with the ancient Berlin Wall (which doesn't go straight through Berlin, but follows Germany's western border. West is rich and healty, East is poor and dark, so both sides have their advantages in the Games: children from West are healthier and stronger, but children from East can handle simple weapons because the neighboorhoods are so dangerous. The Head City is located on a human-made island a few hundred kilometers above District 1 (United Kingdom). It's positioned on an enormous island along with some other government facilities and a gigantic maze. Wars don't happen anymore. Except for the rebellion in District 16 only District 1 and 33 (Ireland) fought a bloody war, 'cause 33 wanted more ground. District 1 is more friendly with the Head City, so 33 was defeated and didn't get any expension, although it's quite tight-populated. District 1 has also the most inhabitants, 80 million, followed by District 5 (Germany) and 2, with both 60 million.

Some Districts, like 17 (Poland), 23 (Lithuania) and 30 (Greece), are neither West or East and learn both languages and habits: there are two languages on the New Continent – Western and Eastern.

There has been a lot of speculations about floodings and vulcanic activity in the future, but this actually never happened. Indeed, flood was a feared occasion. However, technology's more advanced, so systems were invented which could stop the flood threat. Vulcanoes in the southern parts of District 31 (Italy), by far the most vulcanic, are also chemically and technically 'killed', which means they don't and can't erupt anymore. So natural violence isn't an issue at all anymore, except for one moment. There has been one incident of a natural catastrophe, and that was around a hundred years before the beginning of the Games. The whole of District 26 has been destroyed by an unknown cause of nature, which makes it still and official District, but it is unpopulated and impossible to inhabit ever again.

District informations

1. United Kingdom - telephone

2. France – alcoholic consumptions

3. Belgium - candy

4. The Netherlands – education (materials)

5. Germany – coal

6. Spain - oil

7. Sweden - wood

8. Finland - printing (books)

9. Norway - paint

10. Austria - Masonry

11. Croatia - Shipping

12. Czech Republic - architecture

13. Slovakia – water treatment

14. Slovenia – beauty products except cosmetics

15. Swiss – medicine

16. White Russia – nuclear energy

17. Poland – heavy industry

18. Ukraine - livestock

19. Moldova - butchery

20. Romania - clothing

21. Hungary - cooking

22. Bosnia - hunt

23. Lithuania – other technology

24. Latvia - Gems

25. Estonia – green energy

26. Serbia (unpopulated, so no tributes or speciality)

27. Macedonia - cosmetics

28. Bulgaria – music instruments

29. Albania - prisons

30. Greece - fishing

31. Italy - grain

32. Portugal - furniture

33. Ireland - transportation

34. Iceland – sports

35. Denmark - toys

**Hope you like it! I sort of created my own universe, some things belong to Suzanne Collins, some things belong to me. I'll post a normal chapter tomorrow****. Spoiler: Mason is going to show he's not a nice guy :D**


	11. The Mason incident

I started sprinting immediately. I knew I wasn't a fast runner, many were faster than me. I quickly ran to my entrance and stared at my weapon for a second. It was a sickle. I realized I didn't have the time to wonder why the hell they would give me a sickle, but grabbed it and ran into the maze. It was a long corridor. I stopped running after a few seconds when I noticed the entrance was closed. Where it used to be was just another high hedge. And it was so silent it creeped me out. I couldn't hear other footsteps, while I knew the closest person was probably on the other side of the hedge. I had to act like it was all under control. I shouldn't waste my energy by running all the time, but it wasn't smart either to stay here the full six hours. Some sadistic others probably searched for tributes in this area. I started walking, and as soon as I took my first step, I shook because I heard a cannon. What? So quick, after just a minute? It made me feel sad – there was someone dead, already. One less to go, one other already had points. The portrait was shown in the sky._ Shmuel Kovsky, District 17_. It was a young boy. There was a family in District 17 who lost their son.  
I wanted to cry, but I didn't. While I started walking again, I looked at my sickle. It was sharp and pointy. Would I be able to kill someone with it? Probably not. Why this, why not something easy as a knife, or at least a sword.

The path was long and I went right, then left, then right again. The cannon went of again and this time it was a girl. But after ten minutes I learned not to pay attention to the cannons. I didn't look at the portraits anymore – it was too sad and too much to keep up. I was scared to death that another tribute was waiting at a corner, but I had no challenges so far. It was foggy and cold in the maze, and I started to wonder if there was something wrong. It was almost too easy. But what about my friends, what about naïve Gabriella? Was she alright, was she dead? I could have missed her portrait easily because there were so many.  
Now and then I heard soft footsteps on the other side of a hedge, but none of them turned out to be close. Half an hour had passed and the people of the Head City were probably going crazy because they were so excited. Over 100 deaths in six hours! That was far better than Panem's tedious Hunger Games, were 23 died in a month.  
I turned left on a random path and when I realized someone was standing a few metres away from me, I was so frightened I couldn't move. Oh, no. I was going to die. The person in front of me stood with his back to me, but turned around and I was even more frightened.

It was Mason. It was the boy where Poppy was friendly with. I didn't know him well, but well enough to know I don't want to encounter him here. When he recognized me, his lips curled and he started to smile in such a sadistic way I became so scared I almost peed in my pants. I couldn't think clearly, and suddenly started to run. I saw he carried a long sword, which was sharp enough to pierce me. I didn't know where I was going, I just ran like I never did before. Where did I get the endurance? At gym class, a week ago when I was just a normal girl, I was the slowest of the class. But now, while running for my life, I knew I had to be fast. I ran through random paths. I knew he was following me, I could hear him. His heavy footsteps, his breath. And then, when I thought I lost him, I ran into a path that was a bit hidden. Next to my path there was also a path, where I thought I saw another tribute hiding. Then I heard Masons footsteps on a nearby path and I prayed he wouldn't find me. His footsteps came closer and my last hope was that he would find the other tribute faster than me. And he did.

The other tribute was on the other side of the hedge and I could hear her voice, high and scared: 'No, no, please, spare me' she cried. Then I heard something that could be a kick – the girl fell on the ground and I heard Mason laugh. I put my fingers in my ears to ignore her cries, but it didn't help at all. The terrifying sound went right through anything and I knew I would never be able to forget it. I never thought I would experience something like this.  
I sat down on the dirt, trembling and shaking, while the cannon went off.  
_Giovanna Polizzucci, District 31_. It was a pretty girl.

Mason laughed again. Then I heard his footsteps, for a moment I was terrified again and then they disappeared. I was so relieved I took a long, deep breath. He was a beast.  
Suddenly I remembered what Chase said about Poppy on his first impression. He said she might be one of the most sadistic ones he'd ever met. I didn't know anything about her behaviour in the maze, but I realized I could picture her very well killing some other tribute in a harsh way. I wouldn't be surprised if she actually killed somebody. It was a shock to me, of course, that stereotype teenagers like us would do such crazy stuff, but I knew the situation where I was in. Maybe Poppy would survive the preliminaries.  
When I was certain Mason wasn't in the area anymore (he was probably furious that I escaped him. How many others did he kill? What if I survived the preliminaries and had to face him in the arena? I would he his first victim. Shit.), I walked on. Maybe two hours had passed, still four to go. The sky was turning pink. In one hour it would certainly be dark. That would be scary if I would be still alive then.

After then incident with Mason nothing special happened. I spotted a dead body once, but it was only stabbed once so not scary and covered with blood. I continued my way until the president announced half of the time had passed. It was indeed getting darker and colder. It was important that I didn't lose my focus. I sat down for a while to rest and think.

What if I actually had a chance to survive the preliminaries? Half of all tributes would be dead by now, maybe even more, so less tributes in the maze and less chance to encounter one. How many of my friends would be dead? Was Gabriella dead, or Lisa, who was the smallest and thinnest of us? Or Sophie? Annie would probably be alive if she was lucky. Annie was strong, smart and skilled. She would be able to defend herself when she is attacked. For some strange reason I hoped more that Annie was alive than Poppy. something scared me about her, although she's my best friend. How could she talk to someone like Mason?  
It was impossible that all of us were still alive. So many had already died, at least one of them would be dead by now. It was a horrible thought, but I would have time to cry about that later when I saved my own life.

After another hour, when it was completely dark and I could barely see a thing, I suddenly heard a scream. 'Help!' someone shouted. This person was even in more panic than the girl from 31, Giovanna. The person screamed again, and this time I recognized the voice: it was Gabriella's.

**Will Indiana be able to save Gabriella? New chapter tomorrow :)**


	12. Survivor

All I saw was blur because of the tears in my eyes, the panic and the fog which was everywhere. I started running like I never did before, following the sound of her voice. Suddenly I bumped on someone and I immediately grabbed my sickle, but the person put her hand on my arm. 'It's me, Annie!' she whispered.

'Where's Gabriella?' I cried.

'I don't know, I was following the sound too! Others might be around, so we need to be quick!' Annie said, and she turned around to follow the noises. She ran faster than I could, but we weren't far, because around the corner, there was the nightmare.

Gabriella was on the ground and her stomach was covered with blood from several deep cuts on her belly. 'No!' we shouted together. I noticed a boy who was two meters away. He held a bloody knife. I tried to throw my sickle, but it missed. While I tried to keep Gabriella awake, Annie started shouting furiously and she threw an axe to the boy. It hit so hard he was almost beheaded. The boy fell on the ground and didn't move anymore.

'You killed him' I said trembling, while she sat down next to me. The cannon went off and the boy came from District 25. Annie didn't say anything, but was crying.

'Thanks…girls' Gabriella murmured. She was very pale. Her eyes were still open and she was breathing, but the cuts in her stomach were too deep to heal. She was lost.

'No, Gabriella! No!' I wailed 'Why don't you try to hold on!'

She smiled, which was a very weird sight because her face was damaged and dying.

'I love you guys…tell whoevers alive that I love them. You will make it.' blood dripped out of her mouth.

'Don't say goodbye yet!' Annie whispered, while she stroke Gabriella's hair. 'It's going to be fine, it will be over soon, we promise.'

'We will be with you in a few hours' I said, but suddenly I realized I was lying. We had an hour left in the maze and there were so few tributes left, we probably wouldn't encounter one anymore. The chance I would survive the preliminaries…was big.

'You must know…she's forming an alliance with Mason…I heard them talk about it.' Gabriella murmured.

'What do you mean?' asked Annie. 'Who?'

'Poppy' I said with a dark tone in my voice. It was true, I knew it. My best friend is going to ally with the person who tried to kill me instead of me.

We looked again at Gabriella, and something had changed. Her eyes were still open, but literally dead. My hands were shaking while I tapped her cheek. It was cold from the temperature here. 'Gab? Gabby?'

When we saw it was of no use, we gave up. I looked at what used to be such an innocent, naïve girl. It was a lifeless body now, just like the boy who laid a few metres away, the killer.

It was like my heart was torn apart, to see such an horrific thing. A week ago, we were free of any sort of sorrows. Yes, boys maybe. But that was all.

We didn't notice her cannon and also missed her portrait, the last thing the world would ever see of her. I thought of Sophie and Lisa and Poppy. Maybe they'd seen the portrait, maybe not because they were dead. The thought of Lisa's small, dead body was unbearable.

They would probably take Gabriella's body to the Head City, where they would clean it and send it back to District 4. Everyone would be present at the funeral, except for her five best friends.

I don't know how long Annie and I spent at that place. Maybe the full sixth hour. One tribute passed us, a thirteen year old who seemed so afraid of us he ran away in a matter of seconds.

I was thinking all the time. I was going to survive the preliminaries, and Annie too. That made two tributes for District 4, in your face, Euphoria! Not none or one, but two. And Poppy probably survived too. That would make…_three. _I didn't want to think about the fate of Sophie and Lisa. It would be impossible that they both survived because that would make five tributes for District 4, which was ridiculous. However, I didn't want to think about that now. I would worry about that later. I couldn't take three deaths at one time. Annie and I laid on our backs, staring at the stars that appeared everywhere. I had closed Gabriella's eyes.

What was Chase doing at the moment? Getting drunk? I knew he liked Gabriella, although he realized just as good as everyone else she wouldn't have a chance. I knew he was right about alliances. We couldn't ally in these Games. We would be each others enemy.

Annie said something, for the first time in an hour. 'I didn't mean to kill him' she said.

'He deserved it' I answered coldly. She probably felt guilty.

suddenly the sky was full of colors. Fireworks were everywhere. We both looked up and knew we survived it. We would live for another week.

'Dear tributes, congratulations on your survival.' spoke the president. His voice was everywhere. 'Follow the arrows on the ground please, to find your way out of the maze and meet your mentor to celebrate your achievement.'

We both looked down, and the president was right. On the ground laid golden arrows, which would lead us to the exit. We sighed, and still filled with sadness, we got up. I looked at Gabriella for the last time and then, together with Annie, followed the arrows out of the maze. We could hear many voices coming closer, and when we saw the grass field where we started, we ran to the exit, straight to Chase who was waiting for us. Next to him stood Poppy…and Lisa.

'Lisa! You survived!' I embraced her. 'Yes' she said. Her voice was trembling from relief.

'Well, how did you manage! Tell me everything! Oh, I am so happy!' I exclaimed.

Poppy coughed. 'And you, of course…survived.' I said to her, but turned to Lisa again.

Poppy looked insulted, and I knew I was mean to her for ignoring her, but I couldn't bring myself to being nice to her at the moment. I was angry because she wanted to ally with Mason, a serial killer.

'I can't believe it!' shouted Chase. 'Four?! Four tributes?'

I looked around. Many tributes were talking to their mentor. I swear one of them was splattered with blood. Most of the tributes seemed to be alone. Some Districts had two survivors. But I couldn't find a group as big as ours. It was flattering, but also scary, because some tributes looked really jealous and angry at us.

'Tributes!' said the president. I saw him on the galleries. 'Tributes' he spoke again 'Today you've written history for being the very first survivors of the preliminaries! Realize the legendary winner is already among you!'

Many tributes looked around out of reflex.

'I can announce that you've survived 128 of your fellow tributes.'

Some tributes who looked sad before, seemed now a bit happy. They knew their chances of winning were a hundred times bigger now.

'Some Districts have achieved great things. To mention one: District 4, who had four survivors out of six!'

Everybody was staring at us and it was scary. I looked down, but felt very flattered by our achievement. And by the way, the people from the Head City probably loved us.

'Now, you will all get the extreme honour to participate in the very first New Games. I can reveal that we'll be flying to the same District 15 to enter the first round, which will take around seven days. Not to forget- District 15 did also very good, three out of five tributes! However, until the first round you will get all the attention and honour you deserve.'

The microphone was turned off and the president left.

'Come on' said Chase 'We are going home'

'Wait' I said 'I just realized he said four out of six.'

It seemed totally unneccessary to think.

'Where's Sophie?'

**Yes, two down already. New chapter probably tomorrow!**


	13. The horrible winners

I slept in until midday and I woke up because it was so hot in my room. Incredible, the climate here kept surprising me. It was November, for God's sake! What kind of weather-machine did they have? I was relieved when I found out I had no dreams last night. No nightmares featuring Gabriella or Sophie. No foggy paths, screaming girls from District 31 or being chased to death by a boy. Just nothing.

And now I was in the Tribute Center again, something I never expected. It would probably be a lot emptier, with only 32 tributes left living in it. The first thing I saw in my room was the sickle, which was in the corner. I was disgusted by it and considered asking Chase if he'd learn me to handle knives instead of that stupid thing. I got out of my bed and realized I didn't have pain in my muscles at all from all the running. I heard some noises downstairs, but wasn't in the mood for company yet. I grabbed a towel and decided to take a bath.

The water was warm and made me relax. I sat there for an hour, thinking about all we've been through so far. Of course, the loss of Gabriella... and Sophie. What was the last thing I said to her? The minutes before we entered the maze were a blur. I cursed myself for being such a bad friend – I couldn't even remember the last moments I spent with a dear friend. Sophie's dead wrecked me indeed, but it was different than Gabriella's. Sophie didn't have an obvious personality like all the other girls. She wasn't my best friend like Gabriella, and the worst- I didn't see her die myself.

I washed my hair and the world looked better and more colorful because I was almost dead yesterday. The value of life wasn't to be underestimated. I had to enjoy it before I would die.

Lisa and Annie were in the living room. They were watching TV, which of course was all about the New Games' preliminaries and the survivors. They also showed the situation here in the Head City and the Capitol (people filled with joy and excitement) and the Districts (people faking to be filled with joy and excitement). I wasn't in the mood to see the preliminaries again, so I went to the dining room, where I found Euphoria and Chase, who were reading newspapers. They greeted me as soon as I came in.

'Where's Poppy?' I asked.

'Still sleeping' said Euphoria 'It was kinda late last night.'

'O' I said and I sat down to read one of the papers. On the front page was a big picture of the maze. _Maze of Death _it said. I trembled and put it back.

'What's up?' said Chase.

'It's all a bit much' I said 'You know, with Gabby and Sophie.'

'You need to work on your attitude' said Chase coldly 'other survivors lost all of their friends, while you still have three. Praise yourself lucky, others are suffering way more.'

I knew he was right, but it still sounded a bit harsh.

'Today is a resting day. You can do whatever you want' said Euphoria.

'Come quick!' yelled Lisa 'they are going to announce the preliminaries winners!'

Euphoria and Chase were quicker than me. Poppy rushed out of her room and also wanted to watch the announcement.

The presenter of almost all the important television shows was Caesar Flickerman, who had hosted the Hunger Games in Panem for over forty years and was now asked to do it here. He was an elderly man, but still filled with energy. I heard the familiar opening theme and saw him entering the stage.

'Hello everyone! Hello everyone at home!' he smiled 'Yesterday was another nerve wrecking day, it was thrilling, it was amazing! You can bet on your favorite tribute after the training scores are announced, but the preliminaries can help you choosing your favorite! I can feel these Games are going to be the best ever.

On the background screen were pictures of the survivors, and as soon I'd spotted myself, I focused on Ceasar again.

'….and as you can see the genders are almost equal: 19 males survived and 13 females. Well, now I can go on to the moment you all have been waiting for – and the tributes in their Center probably too. Who are the victors of the preliminaries? The victors will get five minutes extra interview time, something that protects them during the first days of round 1, and a crown during the Chariot Rides. I invite Secretary-General and Head Gamemaker Pillano up here on the stage, to announce our winners! Welcome, mister Pillano'

'Thank you' said the man. It was really the same one as the one on the station.

'Well, tell me. Were the results close to each other?'

'No' said Pillano. That was his only answer.

'So, a boy and a girl. Were their results close to each other?' asked Ceasar.

'Yes' answered Pillano.

'That's obvious. Ok, and how worked the point-system?'

'Very easy. One point for a simple kill. Two points for a more complex kill. Three points for an excellent kill. And fifteen if you kill someone from your District. Unfortunately, no one tried to get those fifteen points. Pity.' explained Pillano.

'Yes' said Ceasar. 'Well, don't let us wait anymore'

Pillano opened an envelope and stared at the name.

'With nineteen points,' he said 'the male victor is Mason from District 2'

I was terrified immediately. It was not only scary that the person who tried to kill me was a serial killer who probably couldn't wait to get his revenge on a missed victim: me. No, it was terrible because this was the person who Poppy wanted to ally with. He might kill her? And although our relationship was a bit complicated the last days, she didn't deserve to die.

'Four times three, two times two and two times one. Congratulations.'

The crowd in the studio cheered and applauded. 'Wonderful' said Ceasar 'Well, and for the female?'

'With seventeen points, four times three and two times two also, is our female victor…'

-I suddenly noticed Chase was staring at Poppy-

'Poppy from District 4!'


	14. Fights

Annie turned the sound off and it was so silent in the room you could hear everyone breathing. Lisa was the first one who dared to say something.

'Is that true?' she whispered, while her eyes narrowed 'Is it a mistake? Six kills? Did you kill _six people_?'

'Yes' said Poppy, and she turned her face away. All I could do was sitting on the couch, completely frozen. All the others seemed to be motionless too.

'But how did you do that!' yelled Annie suddenly. I knew she was having much trouble with herself because she felt terribly guilty about the one kill she made in a rage of anger (how many points did she get?) and wondered why anyone would be able to take six lives.

All I wanted to know why it was possible that since we left District 4, Poppy had changed so much. She was still changing, every day. It was scary. She used to be such a sweet girl, and now she was a serial killer…she was the most vicious girl in the maze.

'O, come on. Am I really the only one who realizes what's important at this moment. Really, Lisa, you aren't as smart as you seem. And Annie, why don't you show your winners mentality? Indiana, seriously, you're my best friend. You understand, right? Right?'

She was begging me, but when I pictured one of her victims begging her for their life, all I could say was: 'No. You disgust me.'

It was almost scary that came out of my mouth. Poppy looked at me so angrily I turned away.

'You have a point, but -' began Chase.

'CAN'YOU JUST BE HAPPY FOR ME? YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, ALL OF YOU! I WANT TO SURVIVE, THAT'S THE ONLY THING I WANT! ALL YOU DO IS WHINE ABOUT FRIENDSHIP AND STUFF LIKE THAT!' she screamed.

She did became a different person, because of the pressure to survive. Euphoria calmly said: 'Please, darling, turn it down. District 11 on the floor beneath us is enjoying our conversation.

'Mason is the only one who understands.' Poppy continued with a soft voice. Now that got me angry. 'Did you know Mason tried to kill me in the maze?' I cried.

'I wish he succeeded.' She whispered. Then she got up, ran to her room and slammed the door. Chase followed her and disappeared. Ten minutes of awkward silence later he came back. 'It's a victor, you know.' He announced. 'A true victor. Exactly the right personality – vicious, cruel, sadistic. Did you ever notice any of those traits before?'

Lisa, Annie and I murmured we didn't.

'I need a drink' he said, and while he was looking for a bottle, he asked us if we wanted to be trained individually or alone.

'What?' said Lisa.

'Training, training, you stupid' he said. Lisa looked offended – this was the first time someone ever called her stupid. 'How else do you want to survive. They don't have a stupid training programme like in Panem. Mentors and tributes can decide whenever they want to train.

'Alone' I said immediately. The others agreed. Poppy probably did too.

Later that night I visited Lisa and we talked the whole evening about our experiences in the maze. I knew a bit about Annie's and Poppy's activities during the preliminaries, but I hadn't talked to Lisa at all. I'd also never been to her chamber before, which turned out to be exactly the same as mine, including a big window which showed the Head City. I sat down on the bed. 'What was your weapon?' I asked curious. She walked to her drawer and got a long, sharp sword out of it. 'Wow' I said 'Dangerous'

'Yeah' she laughed 'Didn't use it at all.'

'I didn't use my weapon as well. God, Mason's a real creep, you know? He chased me in the maze, but luckily he found someone else to kill.'

Lisa's eyes widened. 'Scary. I had to run a couple of times myself, but most of the time my chasers weren't so clever. I did see Gabriella's portrait in the sky actually. I broke down, cried like a baby.'

We avoided the subject Poppy and talked about tributes that we noticed.

'There is this guy from District 30, Stavros if I'm not mistaking, and he's like…crazy. Really, his kills were disgusting. They took so long he only committed three murders or so. And there was a boy from 1 who did chase me in the maze, I believe he survived too.'

The idea of being in the same arena as this Stavros scared me to death.

'We will ally in the arena, right?' I asked. She smiled. 'Of course. And Annie too. We run to each other as soon as the gong goes.'

'We'll be stronger together.' I said.

The next morning I woke up early, but the living room was empty. Chase was probably downstairs, training Annie. I would be next, but I didn't know when that was. Maybe tomorrow, maybe today. Lisa still slept and Euphoria was nowhere. I went into the breakfast room, where I found Poppy sitting at the table. At first I wanted to leave, but changed my mind. At least I could act like a friend, right?

'Hi' I said a bit cold, while I grabbed some toast and sat down too.

'I'm sorry about yesterday' she whispered 'It was just a bit…much'

'I see' I said. She looked awful. Had she lost weight?

'Look, I don't want to be that girl, ok? I don't want to be the…Career tribute-like person. I'm not like that! It's just like…when you need to do it, to really kill someone, you need to do it good. Getting liked by the audience can save your life. I don't want people to treat me like I'm a monster. I need you, Indiana. Just like I need Lisa and Annie. I cried as much as you did when Gabriella and Sophie died.'

I looked at one of the papers, where she was on the front page. She was running through the labyrinth, holding a silver and deadly looking spear, probably her weapon. She saw it too.

'Listen, I can't promise I will never behave like this and yesterday again. Even the strongest weaken under pressure. Please remember you are my best friend deep down here'

She tapped her chest. I didn't dare to talk about Mason, so I shut up and ate my toast until Euphoria came in and had an announcement.

'As soon as Chase and Annie arrive, we are going to prepare ourselves for the Chariot Rides!'


	15. Panther

At two o'clock we left the tribute center and made our way to the Avenue of Victory. It resembled the Lane of Tributes at the Capitol, but it was much bigger. I heard the voice of Ceasar Flickerman on the radio in the car. He said that over two hundred thousand people could take place on the galleries. At eight o'clock we would be driving over the Avenue. Never thought I'd do it. We would be live for the whole world. Billions were watching.

We entered a tunnel and eventually stopped. Euphoria dragged us out of the car and brought us to the elevator. We went to the first floor, where a man with a list in his hands was waiting for us. 'District 4?' he asked. Euphoria nodded and led us to a corridor with many doors.

'Well, I'm going to leave you now, they will make you beautiful and you'll meet your individual stylist. I understood they were all begging to get a tribute from District 4.'

Yeah sure. They were all begging for Poppy. You can say that in my face, Euphoria.

She pointed to my door and I went in. The room was small and dark. Several people in uniforms were waiting for me. They said nothing while they approached me, studied my nails and looked at my hair. They remained silent and I didn't know what was going on until someone else came in. It was a man, but it was hardly recognizable. I almost became epileptic by the sight of his clothes – so many patterns and colors – the Head City fashion was more normal than the Capitol, but still very weird. This man looked like a fruit cocktail. He had short, purple hair with pink highlights.

'Hello' he said 'I am Panther, your stylist. Chase knows me, he's your mentor.'

'I know' I said 'What's up with those people? Why don't they talk?'

I said it before I knew it and felt embarrassed. The bizarre Panther laughed.

'They are avoxes'

'What's that?'

'People who committed a crime against the Capitol. Their tongue is cut out. The Head City has other ways to punish their violators.'

I wanted to ask what those were, but I shut my mouth and remained as silent as the avoxes.

'According to them, you don't need to be shaved. Good job, I hate those hairball tributes so much.'

I didn't know yet if I liked Panther or not. I would do good to do so, because I would be spending the following week with him.

'Sit down and relax. Here, let us do the work and read this. Don't be a pain in the ass.'

'Don't worry, I'm ok with everything.' I said happily. I didn't really know what to expect, because I rarely watched the Games. I knew what Chariot Rides were, but I never really focused on the tribute looks. My father told me they were sometimes bizarre, but who cared? It was all about making an impression.

I looked at the magazine Panther had given me. _Capitol Couture. _Although I disgusted the Capitol fashion style, it was better than nothing.

The avoxes did my nails, skin, make-up and hair. It took very long, I sat there for hours.

When I looked in the mirror, I looked….normal. More beautiful maybe.

'Well' said Panther 'this is nice. I can work with this. Ok, now about your costume. I figured out that, because you have four survivors and most important, a victor, it is not necessary for District 4 to make an impression. You already did. So now we can just make you beautiful instead of a glitter bomb who's desperate for attention. Your District specialty is education, right?'

I nodded slowly, still staring at the bizarre dress of my stylist.

Panther ordered the avoxes to bring him my costume. All I saw was a lot of white silk.

'I negotiated along with the other three stylists – Eclipse, Opera and River, and we thought it would be great if we dress you like Roman Goddesses!' he said.

'What's that, "Roman"?' I asked, feeling dumb.

'They founded an empire in present District 31, almost 4000 years ago. Long before Panem existed, and even longer before the New Continent existed in its present state. They believed in many gods, and one of them represented knowledge and wisdom. You get it? Education!'

'Okay' I said. My stylist and his avox assistants started to drape the silk around my body. It turned out to be very complex, it took long. But when they were ready and I looked in the mirror, I was amazed. I was absolutely more beautiful than I ever was before. I used to be normal, an ignored person. I probably was one of the more boring tributes, but still a world-known girl. And it felt great, although I knew why I was famous. Only because I was going to die – I survived the preliminaries because of pure luck.

However, I didn't want to think about that now. My parents and Alex would see on television I was alright, healthy and alive. I became a little excited.

'Thank you' I said to Panther.

'No problem' he said 'You are an easy person to work with.'

He led me out of the room, into a corridor where many other tributes were walking around in their costumes, stressed out and disoriented. I was nervous too, but I could handle it. I looked around and noticed some of the costumes they were wearing were really ridiculous. I giggled sometimes, I couldn't help it. Some of them looked a little jealous at my white, long dress because it was so normal, so elegant.

Suddenly we passed Mason. He was dressed in some sort of golden armour-chest plate and short, silver pants. When he saw me, he smiled in a way that made me very nervous. I swore he whispered, while passing: 'Just a couple of days left.'

I ignored him, while I tried not to cry. Panther led me to an enormous garage, where more tributes were waiting next to a chariot with each a couple of beautiful horses. I found my friends quickly and ran up to them. 'Hi' I said. They greeted me and continued to look around.

Euphoria and Chase appeared out of nowhere and helped us to get on our Chariot. It was slightly bigger than the other ones because we had more tributes than most of the other Districts. I stood next to Poppy in front of the Chariot. 'Hey' she said 'Mason told me he greeted you in the corridor. Why didn't you say anything back? He's just trying to be nice.'

I got angry immediately. 'He didn't greet me!' I shouted, but then closed my mouth. I wasn't in the mood to fight with Poppy.

'Oh, I don't know. Just let it go. I'm anxious' she said.

'Do you know what protection you are going to get in the arena?' I asked.

'No, they will give it to me in the preparation room before we enter the arena.'

'Five minutes left!' some man in uniform announced. I noticed a pair of enormous doors. On the other side was the Avenue of Victory. If you listened closely, you could hear the crowds on the galleries. I was a little sick.

'Remember: smile, look happy! We need all the sponsors!'

I was having opposite feelings – one part of me wanted to run away, the other part wanted to enter the Avenue and shine.

'Two minutes' said a voice. The chariots slowly drove to the doors, where they lined up. The first one was a boy from 1 (I heard somebody call him Lex), the second one was Mason. We were third, which meant no one from District 3 survived the preliminaries.

I looked at Lex, who seemed sixteen or seventeen. He had chased Lisa in the maze, but eventually let her go. I wondered if he was nervous. He was the first one to enter the Avenue and he'd lost all of his friends. Mason acted like he wasn't bothered at all by the loss of his friends.

'One minute!'

Most tributes stopped talking to their escort, mentor or stylist and shut up. Now you could clearly hear the sound of the crowd outside. I could also hear the voice of Ceasar Flickerman, who was talking about the programme of the evening. 'Well, good luck' wished Euphoria us.

We grabbed each other's hands. Annie's hand was sweaty.

Someone ordered that the doors had to be opened. Slowly they did and revealed the Avenue of Victory. I was frozen because it was even bigger I expected. Lex' Chariot shook and entered the Avenue. Soon after that Masons.

Then it was our turn.


	16. Romance at the Chariot Rides

The horses started walking and we rode into the Avenue of Victory. I couldn't find the words to describe it – maybe overwhelming came close. The Avenue was wide and long, with galleries where countless people were cheering. Fireworks lighted up the night sky. All I could see were flags, happy people and it was so light I winked a few times. People probably noticed it, because they became even more noisy. I saw my face on enormous screens in the sky – it showed Poppy's, then mine. I looked astounded, so I needed to smile. I did and everyone was throwing flowers. It was actually great. Something to remember. The Chariot rode on and I felt like I was high. I never thought two hundred thousand people would actually go mad at my sight. Behind us was a chain of other Chariots.

This was not about our death. This was about priceless fame, and we all knew that. None of us seemed nervous. I had to laugh when I thought of the face of my math teacher, who was probably watching at home. What was he thinking? 'She won't accomplish anything'. Well, here I was.

We were at the end of the Avenue, and then I saw Poppy stepped out of the Chariot. Ceasar Flickerman was waiting for her, two meters away. Mason stood next to him. The three of them walked to a big staircase which led to a platform where the president was sitting. Our Chariot rode on and stopped when it reached its place in the formation.

I looked at the trio on the staircase – Mason, Poppy and Ceasar. They looked like they were royal, they were literally higher than us. True victors, I thought, disgusted.

When the last Chariot, District 33, reached its final position, the president stood up and ordered silence. It was amazing how fast the crowd shut their mouths. I also recognized the president of Panem, Snow the second, the son of the first Snow. He stood next to our president. Poppy, Ceasar and Mason stood in a corner.

'Welcome' said the president 'Welcome tributes, welcome audience, welcome everyone in Panem and the New Continent. Welcome at the 1st New Games of the New Continent.'

'Today is a special day' said Snow the second 'We are excited to celebrate the friendship between the New Continent and Panem with these exciting Games, and therefore we honor the brave tributes who are gathered here today!'

Everyone cheered.

'We wish you happy New Games, may the odds be ever in your favor. We hope this event will be sportive and that only the very best man or woman from the whole continent may win.' Said the president. 'Tributes' he continued 'You look all fabulous, we will be delighted to behold your heroic deeds the following days. I've been given the honor to announce that we will be flying to District 15 in a couple of days, where the first arena is located. But now, may I introduce to you – _the victors of the preliminaries!_'

I looked up immediately. Mason and Poppy walked up to the president and shook his hand.

She looked so far away, literally. Was this the same girl who I had sleepovers with, who I baked cakes with? Now she stood there because she committed many murders.

Pillano, the secretary-general and Head Gamemaker, placed crowns on their head. They were perfect. The goddess and the gladiator. It frightened me, but it was also beautiful to see.

'Ladies and gentleman, wherever in the world you may be, I present to you, Mason and Poppy, victors!'

While the crowd applauded, screamed and cheered, my mouth fell open.

Mason kissed her. He kissed her while he held her hand. The audience loved it, this was even better than the 'Star Crossed Lovers' we learned about in school. Those two won the 74th Hunger Games, started a rebellion and were executed immediately.

I was frozen, along with Annie and Lisa. This was our end. If Poppy chose Mason as ally, we wouldn't have a chance. Influencing Poppy was so easy, maybe the nightmare scenario of her killing us would became reality. We had to do all we could to prevent this, but if they became lovers, it was impossible. I didn't even notice that the Chariot made its way back to the garage. All I could see was her, kissing the guy that tried to kill me, my arch enemy who couldn't wait to end my life in the arena. Would she choose him, a guy she'd known for a couple of days, over me, her life-long best friend?

Annie and Lisa thought probably the same, because when we were back in the garage, all we could do was sit on the ground while Euphoria tried to discover what was wrong with us.

'Oh, don't you understand anything, you silly woman?' said Chase. She was insulted, but didn't say anything back.

'Did you know?' he asked us after a long pause.

'No' said Annie.

'This is worse than an alliance' whispered Lisa.

'We're dead' I said.

I hoped the training, the upcoming interviews and the individual training scores would give me something to distract myself.

**The Games are getting closer! Unfortunately school will start on Monday and I won't be updating daily anymore when my classes begin. However, I'll give you longer chapters :) **


	17. I'll make a Tribute out of you

'Hey, you! Get up!' shouted someone on the other side of the door from my bedroom. I felt dizzy for a moment and then looked at the clock – it was half past six.

'Get your clothes on and eat something. I'll meet you in ten minutes at the Training Centre'

It was Chase. I remembered it was the first day of my training. I still felt shitty about the Chariot Rides yesterday, but we didn't confront Poppy. We didn't dare and we didn't want to fight with her. God knows how much time we had left together.

I wasn't an active person in the morning, but Chase'd told me that if I wouldn't stop whining I would be the first to get stabbed at the bloodbath. I knew my priorities. This time I had to get up if I wanted to survive. So I did. I quickly ate some cereal and made my way to the lowest floor in the building. I had never been to the training center before. The first thing I noticed was the fact that there were already a dozen of tributes. I mean, were they crazy or something? It was a quarter before seven?

The space looked like a giant gym, with many weapons and natural things like branches and fires. I spotted Chase and walked up to him.

'Right on time' he said, smiling 'Lisa was five minutes late yesterday. At least I can work with you.'

I was a bit sleepy, but paid attention.

'Your assigned weapon was a sickle, right? Well, I already notice you can't handle that at all and we don't have the time to learn it because I have so many tributes to train. I think it's best if we focus on thing like fire making and shelter building, maybe some knife-throwing, that always turns out to be handy. What are your strengths?'

'I don't have any.' I said.

'Well, you've already convinced me that mental strength can also be important. Apart from some whining about your friends, you stay strong. Sane. I'm not lying if I say to you that I really like all of you. I mean, Lisa is very intelligent, although I believe she won't last long in the arena because she's physically weak. Annie is opposite – she's very strong, athletic and handy. I see a lot of potential in her. Try to ally with her.' He said.

I nodded, but I knew it was going to be hard to ally. And I wasn't going to ally with Annie and leave Lisa. I didn't even know yet if I was going to ally at all.

'Follow me' said Chase. We walked to a table with knives. About five meters away was a dummy. 'Well, throw it. I want to see. It is a useful skill in the arena. Have you ever used knifes before?'

'In the kitchen' I said, and when he looked annoyed at me I had to make my point. 'Look, it is not the same as in Panem here. We are not used at all to the idea of participating in the Games! The Districts here are safer than there. We don't hunt here, ok? We don't need tools or weapons to survive. Except for East, but I'm from West.'

'Exactly. And that's why the poorer Districts have _better_ chances than the rich ones. Because they know what it is to struggle to survive. Were you ever starving?'

'No' I said. I knew he was right. I grabbed a knife and threw it.

It made noise when it fell on the ground. It didn't even reach the target.

'Again' said Chase.

I threw again and it fell for a second time in the air.

'You have to throw it with all your power. Picture someone you hate in the dummy.'

I took a knife, imagined the pretty girl who was in Alex' class and who was always seeking for his attention and threw it. It the dummies leg.

'Better, better…here, let me try.' He said, and the next thing happened so fast I blinked.

He threw ten knifes so hard and fast into the dummy it almost broke in two.

'Are there really tributes who can do that?' I said with a high voice.

'After all I've seen from Mason, I believe so.'

I tried a couple of times again and finally managed to throw a knife into the dummies heart.

'We still need to do a lot of work, but I think we will finally get there.'

We practiced on fire-making, which was difficult. I personally hate fire, but I knew it could save my life. I discovered hand-to-hand combat was fairly easy, maybe because I had been practicing for fifteen years with my sister.

After lunch Annie, Poppy and Lisa joined us, because Chase wanted to talk about some basic thing we might have missed since we never watched the Hunger Games on television. Poppy was bored because she already knew most things. She stood up, found Mason at the spear-throwing station and spent the afternoon with him.

'The most important thing in the arena is water.' Chase said 'without it you won't even reach the third day. And you will find water, it depends on the arena how quickly.'

Distracting things were happening behind his back. A boy who I recognized as Stavros, the scary crazy tribute who threw a sword into a dummy. It looked disturbing and I focused on Chase again.

'When the gong goes, make your way into the woods or something immediately. Don't bother participating in the bloodbath, you will get killed. Find water and a place to hide. Then gather food, but no berries except when you know a hundred percent they are edible. Understood?'

We nodded.

I looked at the other training tributes again. Were there really girls and boys among them who were like us, 'innocent' and no ability to kill or harm or fight? It couldn't be possible that the only ones who survived were all killing machines. There must be tributes who survived by luck. We weren't the weakest.

'…and never make fires at night or at full daylight. Always twilight.'

After that we practiced setting traps. I'd been training all day, but it was worth it. I felt like I knew enough to survive for at least a couple of days.

The gambling stations would open in two days, after the training scores were decided, so we could see if the odds were in our favor.

But first we had to train our asses off for two days.

'I'll make a tribute out of you' said Chase.

**Tell me what you think! :) New chapter tomorrow, training scores will be decided. Will the odds be in their favour?**


	18. Private Sessions and Odds

And train we did. I made progress, but was also worried about the thing between Poppy and Mason. I avoided her as much as I could, but when I thought they weren't romantically involved together, I caught them kissing at the camouflage station.

I knew Poppy noticed how cool Annie, Lisa and I acted to her, but it didn't seem to bother her. We didn't spoke directly anymore – maybe a few sentences in two days.

And suddenly it was the last day before we would leave the Head City to go the arena. I hadn't made the same mistake as I did before the preliminaries – being naïve and thinking that everything was miles and miles away. No, I was fully aware all the time of the fact that we were going to enter an arena to die. However, when I woke up this morning after a terrible nightmare about Gabriella and Sophie, I was full of energy. Today they would decide our training scores, which would be revealed at the interviews later this day. I was anxious: for tomorrow, for the training scores and for the interviews. I had no great personality, what angle should I be at the interviews? And what would I show to the Gamemakers?

We had to leave early, because there were thirty-two tributes who all had to show their skills.

We drove the Proton Research Center. The last time we were there, we were with six. Now it was four. I felt…empty.

We had to wait in a long, dark corridor. Because we were District 4, we were the third District to go to the Gamemakers, so we wouldn't have to wait long. I saw the tribute from District 1, Lex, who was pale and talking to his mentor. Mason wasn't there yet. Soon after us arrived District 15, who had also many tributes left: three out of five. I believe one of them was called Emmerick. He was a tall, muscular guy with a gigantic, long, pink scar on his arm. He was probably hurt at the preliminaries. In some way he looked nicer than Mason. He and his two friends sat down.

I also discovered that District 7 was the next District to have any tributes participating - two boys. That meant that no one from District five or six survived. Eleven kids gone, like they were nothing.

A few minutes later a robotic voice announced that Lex Higginbotham from District 1 had to go to the Gamemakers. He stood up, tried to look fierce and disappeared.

'I'm nervous' said Lisa.

'Good. Ok, the scores go on a scale from one to twelve, inside the room are a couple of weapons and survival stuff, do whatever you can do best. It is very simple. I have nothing more to explain.' Said Chase.

While Lex was performing invisible things in front of the Gamemakers, I started to think about District 15 tomorrow. The arena would be there. All I knew about District 15 was that it was located 1000 kilometers south from our District and that there were mountains. Maybe we had to survive in the mountains. Well, that would be great actually. I spent my summer vacations climbing the mountains of District 10 when it was still possible to travel.

'Hey Poppy' I said. I couldn't help it, I was just too curious 'what did you get to protect yourself?'

She stared at me. 'I can't tell you'

'Yes you can, I'm your best friend.'

She opened her mouth, but shut it again. She looked away. I realized it was only a matter of time before this strange bomb exploded, but I hoped it wouldn't be in the arena.

'Mason Ducrucifix, please make your way to the Gamemakers.'

Next it would be Annie's turn, because her back name started with a B. Moments of awkward silence started.

Time proved to be a bitch, because when you need it to go slow, like right now, it goes so fast minutes seem seconds. Annie went in, Poppy after her and then it was my turn.

I entered a pace which resembled the Training Center. I also saw the Gamemakers, who were staring at me.

'Indiana, District 4' I said. Head Gamemaker Pillano nodded and told me to continue.

I didn't know what I had to show to them, so I decided to go and make a fire. That wasn't hard, so it wouldn't give me a high score, but it was something.

My first fire just smoked and made me cough, but the second one succeeded: I created flames. I was sort of proud, but I knew I had to do more. I went to the knife-throwing station and threw ten knifes. It was hard – you couldn't learn a skill like that in two days.

Four out of the dropped on the ground, two hit the dummies leg, one hit the arm, one the head and one the heart. I wanted to throw more, but the Gamemakers forbade it.

'We've seen enough. Thank you.'

I felt relieved. It was done, there was no need to be nervous anymore except for my score and the interviews tonight. I felt like I didn't nail it, but I was certainly not the worst.

'And, how did it go?' asked Euphoria.

'It was ok' I said 'I made a fire and threw some knifes. Hey, what did you show to them?'

'I did some climbing and running' said Annie 'and I beheaded a dummy with an axe.'

'I also made a fire, lit some arrows up and shot them all within twenty seconds to a dummies head.' Said Poppy proudly.

'I didn't know you could do archery' I remarked coldly.

'I took some lessons at home and Mason taught me a couple of things.'

'Hmm' I said. When Lisa showed up after her private session, she giggled that she was so nervous she failed at almost everything she tried.

'Too bad you can't show some math to them' she said. We all laughed except for Chase, who probably thought that all of us were a couple of dumb blondes. Well, then he was wrong, because except for Poppy no one was blonde. I was a brunette but dyed my hair blonde and Lisa was Asian so black-haired. And Annie's hair was just dark.

`We should probably go to the television studio for the interviews. The more time the stylists have, the happier they are.' Said Euphoria. We got into the car and when we arrived at the studios, there were big screens everywhere. They had already opened the gambling stations, a few hours before the scores would be announced. I quickly looked at my odds.

1-31.

I felt sad that they were so low, but when I looked at all the other odds, it calmed me. Most of them were like mine: 1-29, 1-35, 1-30….except for the ones who showed their skills in the maze – Poppy had 1-9, Mason 1-6, the highest. Stavros had 1-12.

Annie had 1-25 and Lisa 1-42.

Panther was already waiting for me in the dressing room.

'Hi' I said. His clothing was even more bizarre than last time, more colors and patterns.

'Hello' he answered 'are you ready for the interviews?'


	19. The interview

While Panther, along with the avoxes, did my hair and make-up, I was thinking about tomorrow. If I ran away from the Cornucopia, I would survive for at least a day, if not attacked. Dying of thirst was better than being pierced with Masons sword.

'This is your dress' he said 'I wanted to add some more colors and bows and other things, but the others said it was just fine.' He handed me a short, pastel pink dress.

'No, it's ok. I love it' I said and I put it on. I had to wear heels, but that wasn't a problem. It would be a problem for Annie in fact- I've known her for four years and I'd never seen her wearing heels. I giggled while I thought about her stumbling on them.

'What happened to your hand?' asked Panther.

'It's nothing' I said. While training, I cut myself because I wasn't paying attention while cutting something else. The avoxes brought him a small vessel with some ointment in it.

'Thanks' I said while they put it on my hand. It healed immediately – I literally saw my wound vanish. This stuff was bizarre and decadent: in my District wounds were healed with a lot of stitches. In the eastern Districts they didn't even have medical care for this sorts of things.

'You know, in the arena you would kill for this stuff. I think you're ready now' said Panther. He brought me to something that looked like a lounge. The ambiance was really relaxed and happy. Some tributes were talking to each other and enjoying themselves. I found the others quickly.

'Hey' they said.

'You all look great' I said. And they did. Poppy walked away because Mason called her.

'Hi' said someone else. I didn't recognize the voice and turned around. I saw a girl with long brown curls.

'Hello' I said 'Do we know you?'

'No' she laughed 'I just wanted to tell you that you dropped your hair clip the other day in the Training Centre. Here it is.'

'O, thanks!' I shook her hand after accepting the clip.

'Rebecca' she said 'District 9, southern part. That's not even that far away from your District. You are Indiana, you are Lisa and you are Annie.'

'How do you know that?' Lisa asked.

' "District 4", eh?'

We laughed.

'Anyway, they are going to commence. I think we have to sit down. Nice talking to you' she said, and walked away.

'She's nice' Lisa said. We sat down on some couches that centered around a big television screen on which the waiting tributes could see the interviews.

'Well, hello everybody!' said the voice of Ceasar Flickerman. He was old, but still looked fit. His hair was yellow. Everyone applauded.

'Two minutes, Ceasar' said a man who was standing at the entrance of the stage.

'Thanks. So, big moment for you and for me!' he said happily 'Your training scores will be announced first, then we will begin with the interviews. Three minutes for everyone except our winners, who get eight. If it's almost your turn, walk up to Daggo, who is standing there-' he pointed at the man at the stage-entrance. Meanwhile, the rest can watch the interviews here. I'm looking forward!'

He walked to the entrance, waited a minute and then the television was turned on so we could watch him enter the stage. We heard the opening theme and I realized I wasn't nervous at all. I was excited. This was the first time since the Chariot Rides I knew for sure Alex and my parents were watching.

'Hello everyone, you are watching the show that everybody's been looking forward too! They are backstage, the tributes you've seen the past days. But first we have to reveal the training scores, and then the serious gambling can begin. You may have seen that Mason from District 2 is favorite, but maybe that will change after tonight!'

Suddenly a picture of Lex was on the screen.

'Lex scored…9! Great!'

That was actually great. Why, in God's name, was I among this sort of tributes?

Mason appeared on the screen.

'Our Victor scored 10!'

I couldn't help looking at him, but when he smiled in that familiar creepy way at me I looked on the screen again.

'Annie, 8!'

'Wow! That's awesome!' Lisa and I said. Poppy said nothing and looked for her score. She had also ten. Now it was my turn.

'Indiana had 6. Not bad' said Ceasar.

I didn't know how to feel. I was happy because it wasn't three or something, but how was I going to compete against 9s, 10s and 8s?

Lisa also had six, which comforted me. The rest of the scores were like ours, not much exceptions. A thirteen year-old from 21, Nihai, scored nine.

The interviews began but I wasn't paying attention to Lex' tries to stand out. Masons interview seemed to take hours because he had eight minutes. All he did in those minutes was telling how excited he was and how he couldn't wait to get into the arena to slaughter some people off. Annie's and Poppy's interview went also fast and then suddenly it was my turn.

'Also from District 4, Indiana!'

I took a deep breath and got on the stage. There was a sofa for me. I shook Caesars hand and sat down, while everyone applauded.

'Hello Indiana' said Ceasar 'Are you ready?'

'Totally' I said. I crossed my legs.

'All right, you are fifteen years old and you come from District 4.' He looked on his cards 'What is it really like in District 4?' he asked.

I thought about the foggy, flat grazing lands and suddenly felt homesick.

'Flat. The District is not big compared to some others. There are about seventeen million inhabitants…couple of big cities, but mostly flat fields. Lots of grass. I can…' I stopped for a moment 'remember well the scent of the grass fields in the morning.'

'And what's that like?' he asked. He was nice.

'Fresh.' I didn't say more, afraid that I was going to cry because I was homesick.

'Well, the District specialization is education, isn't it? Are you doing good at school?'

'Not too good, er, many bet better grades.'

'You can be a little more confident' he said nicely 'I'm sure you have other things you're good at. So, are you ready for the Games?'

I acted like I was thinking for a while.

'Yes' I lied 'I think so. However, the competition is strong.'

'You don't have to be an excellent fighter to win the Games. They've proved that in Panem numerous times.'

'Well, Poppy is and her chances are notably better than mine' I said it before I realized it.

Ceasar looked curious. 'What is your relationship like?'

'We've been best friends since years.'

'It will be all right. Real friendship doesn't end in death.'

We chatted a bit about my training score and then the interview was over. I made my way back to the lounge, while I felt the same relief as when I was done at the private sessions. Now the chapter in the Head City was over. We would be in a hovercraft to District 15 in twelve hours. I trembled and looked up because I heard loud noises in the lounge.

Some people were shouting at each other, really loud and angry. My mouth fell open when I realized it were Annie and Lisa against Poppy. The last one looked so furious her head was red.

The bomb had burst.

**Tell me what you think! :) Hey everyone, school started today and my schedule is as full as it can be (I'm taking 14 subjects), but I'll try to update daily.**

**Update: I'm even more busy than I thought I would be -,- school is horrible, I have classes from 8 am to 4 pm. I'm trying to use all my free moments to translate (I've finished the story months ago, but it's written in Dutch so I have to translate it all) and I think I will have a new chapter up either tomorrow, thursday or friday. Thanks for patience guys :D**


	20. Countdown

They hardly seemed to notice I had arrived. Poppy threw her hands in the air and shouted:

'You don't get it, as usual! Is it really that hard to understand anything?'

'Not with something like this' said Lisa aggressively. I looked around nervously. Some tributes were peeking at us, others were watching TV. Chase, please, come, I begged.

'What's up' I asked Annie, while Lisa continued to argue loudly with Poppy.

'O, we confronted miss-I-can-do-it-all about the kissing incident at the Chariot Rides.' Said Annie in disgust 'And then she became so angry she wished we would die first at the bloodbath.'

'God' I said. I couldn't say anything more.

'…it's not illegal to say something cruel when you are angry, seriously. You don't need to make it so big. But hey, I understand. All you want to do is cry in each other's arms, thinking about how unfair life is!' cried Poppy.

Annie stepped forward and suddenly punched her in the face. She was frozen for a second, but then became red, and whispered: 'I see. I know what to choose now.'

She turned around and walked to Mason, who seemed euphoric.

I was disgusted by all this and afraid of them as well. The chance that she would actually be able to kill someone from her District became bigger. What did these Games do to her?

She wasn't the sweet girl anymore, it was impossible to believe what she'd told me at the breakfast table the other day.

She didn't come home tonight. Chase said she'd probably spend the night at the District 2 floor. I didn't even bother to ask whether that was against the rules. Maybe they'd shoot her before she'd enter the Games, so one opponent less. I couldn't even care.

The last evening before the departure was even worse than the one before the preliminaries. Everyone was too tense. No one said something. I read a book about plants, which might be useful, but couldn't concentrate on the words. And when Euphoria said we should go to bed because we needed our sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that, if I was alive tomorrow night, I would be sleeping on the ground or in a tree, frozen and hungry.

However, I had to profit from my last comfortable night and one way or another, I managed to fall asleep. Not that that was so good, because I had another nightmare which featured Gabriella. When I woke up, sweaty and trembling, I realized it was probably a good thing that she and Sophie didn't have to go through what we did now. They wouldn't have to starve in an arena. Now that I was awake, I couldn't sleep anymore. I knew we had to get up at six – the hovercraft would leave at seven and we would arrive in 15 at eleven. The Games would commence at half past eleven. That was in…five hours.

I got up and stared for a while out of the window. The Head City was bathing in the first sunlight of the day. I felt horrible that I had to leave – I liked it here, although I knew perfectly well why I was here.

Some of the clothing pieces that we would wear in the arena were delivered yesterday. I put them on and went downstairs. I tried not to think about what was going to happen.

Live now. Live here and now.

Annie joined me ten minutes later. 'Did you sleep?' she asked.

'No' I said.

'Me neither.'

We didn't ate much, we were both not hungry and a bit sick. When Chase and Euphoria arrived, it was definitive. We would be boarding the hovercraft soon.

When it was almost time to leave, I walked around the floor. It was the last time I would ever see it. I thought that too when we were going to the preliminaries, but I knew there was a chance of survival. Now there wasn't, only one out of thirty-two would leave the arenas.

And that would certainly not be me.

No one said something while we were in the elevator, going down.

Outside it was crowding with the press. A hovercraft was waiting in front of the building and some peacekeepers kept control over the mass. Cameras were pushed in our faces.

'Lisa, are you planning to participate in the bloodbath?'

'Indiana, can I get your last comment on all this?'

We were pushed into the hovercraft. When I was inside, I felt like I was being choked. It locked me up. It would take me to the place I was going to die.

It turned out that every District had a small room to sit in while we were flying. It was a bit too small for our company, because we were with six: me, Lisa, Annie, Chase, Euphoria, and Panther, who had joined us. I was sort of happy to see him. Poppy was probably with Mason.

The hovercraft started flying and the Head City disappeared.

'Tributes and guides' said a robotic voice. A television screen in the wall popped on.

'We are heading for District 15, where you will descend under the arena. There is one private room a tribute and guide. From there you will go up into the arena, where you will find the Cornucopia. Don't step off your plate until the countdown is finished, however, you probably understand that.

The arena may look like the ones you've seen in the Hunger Games, put the principe is different. Some of you will survive this arena. Most of you will not. You will stay in the arena until only twelve remain. If the Gamemakers decide you are too boring and slow, there are other ways to make sure that twelve tributes remain. Don't forget earthquakes, floods and animals you may want to avoid while in the woods. The arena is mostly forest and mountain. If it comes down to the final twelve, you will be freed from the arena and the rest of the programme will be announced.'

After the last word the screen turned black immediately.

So that was the goal. The final twelve. I became anxious. How was I going to survive twenty people?

'Right, for final preparation in the room under the arena: Euphoria, you will take Lisa, Panther will take Indiana and I will take Annie.' Said Chase. The others nodded.

We flew for a while until I felt a strange pressure on my ears. The hovercraft was landing. It was horrible. We couldn't look out a window, but I just felt we were landing.

'We can get out as soon as those lights above the door pop on.'

'I don't want to go' I said, while Panther helped me put on a jacket a few minutes later in the preperation room.

'Nobody wants to' he said 'Like that time Atlas Dechamp invited me to his birthday party. I didn't want to go, but I had to because we would get a pink dyed puppy dog as a present.'

I had to smile I knew I couldn't share things like this with him. I stared at the tube where I had to go in in five minutes.

'Drink something' he said.

There was a fountain in the corner of the room. I drank much, but not so much my belly would hurt while running. When I was finished, I embraced him.

'Thank you' I said 'It was nice to know you'

'Same' he said 'Now hurry, you need to get in your tube'

I let him go with pain in my heart – the last living object that wouldn't want to kill me. I walked to the tube and entered it. It felt claustrophobic.

'One minute' said a voice.

'Indiana! Good luck!' shouted Panther while suddenly the floor was rising. I shook and was anxious.

I rose into the arena. I felt the wind blowing in my face. Next to me rose others up.

I was completely disoriented and stressed out, but knew I had to focus. I wouldn't look at the supplies at the Cornucopia, because I would be tempted to participate in the bloodbath. I had to follow Chases advice. While the clock on the Horn of Plenty was counting down, I looked around. We stood on an enormous grass field. There was a forest behind me, so many people would flee in there. I could also see forest on the other side of the grass, but that was probably hundreds of meters away. The arena was quite beautiful, there were also mountains.

And suddenly I knew what to do. I would run to the other side of the field. Most tributes would probably go into the woods behind me because it was closer. It would be safer on the other side. The run would be heavy, but I had to do it.

'Ten, nine, eight' I looked at the tributes. I could see Annie, a few plates away from me, but I realized it was really impossible to bond with her because of my plan and the chaos that would break out in a few seconds.

'Seven, six, five' Where was Lisa? Probably on the other side of the Cornucopia. I was hoping so badly she would be smart enough to realize she had to run away from here as quick as she could.

'Three, two, one' Oh my God. I got ready to run.

The gong went off and the New Games had begun.


	21. Unarmed and alive

There was absolutely no time to think. I had to get away from here. People were running around, grabbing stuff and fighting. I took a deep breath, focused on one point at the far-away forest and started running like I never did before. I didn't look at the others, I just ran. My life literally depended on it. I forgot about Lisa and Annie. I would worry later about the lack of supplies. I passed a back pack, but I didn't take it. I could hear the sound of the fight, but all I could do was hope that my friends wouldn't die. I quickly looked around if no one was following me to the opposite side of the field, but it seemed like I was the only one who got the idea of hiding there and not the closer woods. It was a relief. I would have more time to find a suitable place to hide.

I was exhausted when I reached the edge of the forest and I jumped into the bushes to hide. I picked a good one – there were no sharp things and no berries. I heard there some berry was deadly if the juice touched your skin. So eating berries wasn't a good idea, I had no idea which were edible and not. I was also a terrible hunter, so what was I going to eat?

I became sick by the thought of the hunger and thirst I would suffer the following days, but now it was all about not being followed. I was right, no one entered the forest at this side.

I was surprised to see that I could follow the bloodbath from here. The distance wasn't far enough to hide the terrible things that happened there. Many would probably go insane witnessing such things. It was terrible indeed, but I could handle it.

I was looking for people I knew, but all I could see was Mason, who stood in the middle of the fights in front of the big Cornucopia. He was circulating around the stuff he had gathered so far. He seemed to feel completely safe while other tributes ran around. What was going on?

Suddenly I saw Poppy, who appeared with a sword in her hands. I realized I was completely unarmed, I would be unable to defend myself if attacked. It felt like I was naked.

One of the younger tributes ran to Mason with an axe and threw himself on him. He slammed the axe in Masons chest. I held my breath…and nothing happened. No blood, no wound. The tribute, however, seemed to have broken his arm. Mason smiled, grabbed a sword out of nowhere and stabbed him.

My mouth fell open, partly because the sight of the stabbing was very unsanitary and partly because…nothing happened to Mason. Why did he survive the axe? He didn't seem harmed at all. Was he immune to weapons? My theory was confirmed by a dark haired girl who stabbed him in the back but also failed to hurt him. She was dead within seconds, though.

So this was their protection. Was it a suit or something, body armour? Poppy would have one too. This was bad. They couldn't die for three full days. How long would it take for them to kill twenty others so they would be in the final twelve? I buried my face in my hands. I had to sit down for a second.

When I got op again, I suddenly spotted Annie, who ran through the fighting tributes with a backpack. She seemed to handle it very well. I held my breath once when some giant tried to attack her, but she escaped without much effort. I couldn't see Lisa anywhere, but I just hoped she wasn't one of the corpses who laid in the grass around the Cornucopia. When the fights were over, they would fire cannons for every fallen tribute and I heard somewhere we would see their portraits too.

It would probably be over soon, because there were only few moving people left. Poppy and Mason fought as wild animals, slammed skulls and gathered supplies. It was sad to see her. I couldn't trust her anymore.

And then it was over. The last person who wasn't Poppy or Mason ran into the forest with a few supplies and I realized I survived the bloodbath. I really did. I had nothing, but I was alive. I sat down in the bush and waited for the cannon to fire.

I counted them. Nine times. Nine people left the earth. Only eleven more to go before we would reach the final twelve. The portraits appeared, I could see them in the sky. The first one was a boy from District 7, which meant we all survived: me, Annie, Lisa and Poppy. It was a huge relief. His friend survived, because the next one was a girl from District 13. Then one of the three from District 15. It was weird, we were still with four and the second best District had only two left. Two girls from District 18 followed, I believe one of them was called Petra. Then the young boy from 21 who had a high training score. Next was Jiska, a girl from 22 who irritated everyone in the training Center by showing her average skills with a bow. She was over the top and she was the first one whose death wasn't important to me. Next were two boys from 32. They were the last ones. It was sad seeing all those faces.

I knew I was safe for a limited amount of time. Others would arrive at this side of the forest soon enough. I had to move, I was at the edge of the forest. I glanced at Poppy and Mason for the last time. They were going to stay at the Cornucopia, because Mason was struggling with some parts of a tent.

The running I just did caused a pain in my tummy and when it was gone, I decided to leave the place I was. The forest was beautiful, green and the light fell through the leafs. It had to be around twelve, but the sun was nowhere. The sky was grey and cloudy. I was used to that, because the weather in District 4 was often like this. It was not cold and not hot, so that was also a good thing. The Gamemakers were probably in a soft mood. The temperatures in the arenas in Panem were usually horrible – or freezing, or desert-like hot.

I stood up from the bush, made sure Mason and Poppy were unable to see me and walked away. I had to find water. I had no idea where, I had to walk around a bit.

It turned out to be harder than it seemed. The forest was full of hidden things that would make you trip and my hands soon became very dirty because I fell a lot. Luckily I wasn't hurt at all. I pushed a big branch out of my way, but when I released it, it hit me in the stomach. I screamed because I shook, but then realized I was an siren for other tributes so I held my mouth shut. It hurt like crazy. I lifted my shirt up to see the damage. There was a long, red mark on my belly. I felt tears coming up.

Come on, Indiana! I spoke to myself. You cry because you are hurt by a branch? Are you going to cry too when you are mortally wounded by someone else, or drowning, or burning?

I knew I was going to experience worse things than this. I mean, I was going to die in a couple of days. I had to be strong. Maybe someone would sponsor me. I imagined Chase, who was probably sitting in a room watching me, being ashamed because I was being a pussy.

He was right. A week ago Gabriella had deep cuts on this place. I trembled and continued my way, watching my back. Water was the most important now.

It was hard to imagine that this was District 15, and people were living maybe a hundred kilometers away from here. These people would be cheering for Emmerick, the big boy, and his friend. The third one from District 15 died at the bloodbath.

Where were Annie and Lisa? Annie would surely survive for a couple of days, but would Lisa? She was nothing but smart. She was physically weak, and maybe she had just like me no supplies.

Suddenly I heard a long scream in the distance, but there was no cannon. I became nervous and walked on. Should I be happy because an innocent was life was spared or that I still had twenty rivals left until the final twelve? I stared at the ground at hoped it wasn't one of my friends. I had to shudder when I thought about huge bears, or hungry wolves.

The forest became silent again and I continued my search for water.

**New chapter probably tomorrow!**


	22. The puddle

Water, water. My thoughts were feverish while I was making my way through the forest. I was sweating and felt like I was about to fall and not come up again. I needed water. It was getting dark and foggy, it became harder to see. Every sound seemed twice as scary, as if every bug and leaf were trying to harm me. I was hungry too, but it was not urgent at the moment. I would worry later about the fact that I didn't know how to hunt and to gather food. Making a fire was a stupid plan. The situation was getting worse every minute. On top of that, it was possible that other tributes already reached my side of the forest and were close. I almost peed in my pants because it was so scary.

I had to think. I could continue my search for water or I could climb a tree to sleep a bit.

The mist was everywhere and I couldn't see further than about ten meters. The forest looked like the ones you see in horror movies.

I bumped on a tree I hadn't seen before because of the mist. My mouth was dry when I made the decision to spend my night high up in the tree. I wasn't a good climber, but it was safer out there.

After a few tries I managed to find a big branch to sit on. It was about five meters high. I wasn't afraid of heights, so it wasn't that scary. It was not extremely cold, so I took my jacket off and tied myself to the tree with it. Then I waited, hoping that I would fall asleep, escaping to a dream world without arenas, deaths and thirst. Just Alex and my parents. How were they doing? Were they watching, staying up all night to see me sitting here in the tree? I wished Chase would send me some water, but of course he didn't. He was probably busy sending all sorts of gifts to Poppy and her boyfriend.

It was almost impossible to sleep, but I became too tired after a while. The fog started disappearing slowly. When I stretched a bit, I suddenly saw a sparkle. It was liquid, it was clear, it was close, it was…water!

Oh my God. There was a puddle! It was thirty meters away! I cursed myself because of the fact that I was too stupid not to walk on. If I had done so, I would have seen the water and wouldn't have to suffer this severe thirst. I wanted to beat the shit out of my brain, but that was of course impossible. Happier than I ever was before in the arena, I started to free myself from my jacket, but when I heard a noise, I stopped.

My heart stopped too. I could hear footsteps. They were getting closer.

I knew I was trapped. The only thing I could do was hoping and praying that this person wouldn't see me in the tree. I was slightly shaking and my mouth became even drier than it already was. Was it a murderous monster-like tribute, or an innocent thirteen-year old?

I spotted a shadow which became a person. A boy, maybe my age or a bit older, appeared. He carried a backpack and a short, sharp spear. I didn't recognize him and was hoping he would walk through fast because I had to drink the water.

The boy was probably planning the opposite. When he saw the water, his face lightened up  
and he seemed very released. He dropped his stuff and ran to the puddle. He sank on his knees and started to drink immediately.

Hurry, I thought desperately, I want to drink too! The water looked so delicious.

Suddenly something strange happened. The boy became very pale (it was scary how fast he turned from pink-faced to white), looked like he was sick and started spitting blood. He seemed shook, but couldn't do anything about the fact that he was probably drowning in his own blood. He tried to stop the blood pouring out of his mouth, but it was impossible and before he could stand up he fell –splash- with his face in the puddle. A big, red aureole appeared around his head in the water.

My hands were cold and trembling. This wasn't water. It was pure poison. The clear substance suddenly looked evil and less attractive. The dead body frightened me so much that all I wanted was to get out of here immediately, tired or not.

It was horrible – I still had no water. But I was pleased when I realized I could take his stuff: a backpack, and a spear! I had no idea how to handle a spear, but throwing one was no rocket science, right? I giggled when I realized a spear was Poppy's weapon of choice. What is this was the only one in the arena and I had it and not her? It pleased me.

I grabbed the backpack, turned around and ran as fast as I could in the darkness. I bumped on something several times, but I had no injuries. I just wanted to leave that horrible place. This time I praised myself for not walking through earlier today, I would've been dead if I had done that.

At last I was so tired, so thirsty and so hungry I stopped walking, laid on the ground and hoped no-one would pass by tonight. It was not very comfortable, but it was all I could do.

A few moments later the sky was full of music. It was the anthem. We would see today's fallen, without the bloodbath ones. I knew there was only one, the one I left behind at the poisonous puddle.

His name turned out to be Peter, from District 16. I felt sorry for him. His life must have been miserable – District 16 wasn't a nice place to live. They were the only ones to rebel against the Capitol and the Head City, and they were defeated within eight minutes. The District's power plants were bombed and today's District 16 is no more than a radioactive desert with a few radiation-free places to live.

After that I probably fell asleep. My dream was weird.

I was in a desert and endless, flat, sandy landscapes were everywhere around me. You could see the heat in the air. I was very thirsty.

The sand started to rise and it formed a silhouette. It was Alex, but he spoke with Chase's voice. 'You want the water?' he said, while he picked up some sand. He showed it to me, and it became a liquid. It was splashing on my face.

'Stop it' I said, but he did it again, and again.

I woke up, sweating and trembling. The sky was pink. It was dawn. I managed to sleep all night. But that was not important. The most important thing was…rain.

It was raining. Very strong. Big drops fell on my face.

I had water.

**Sorry if the chapter's a bit short, I just have no time for more. Tell me what you think!**


	23. Finding a Friend

After I filled my mouth several times with the delicious drops, I decided to take a look into Peters backpack, hoping he would have something useful to save some rain. I zipped it open and analyzed every thing in it, one by one.

A dozen of matches. A rope. A sharp, little knife which had some blood drops on it. A little bit of bandage. A tiny package with rice in it. And a small plastic bag.

'That will do' I murmured. I attached it to a tree and soon rain was falling into the bag. I hoped it would last. When I saw it did, I relaxed, opened the rice and started eating. I knew I had to save my food, but I was very hungry. I didn't like rice, but when you are starving and it's all you've got, it will look good.

In the daylight everything was less scarier. It was warm, regardless of the heavy rain. I took my jacket off and tied it around my waist. How would I be spending this day? I could walk around, hoping not to encounter anyone, or I could stay here. Unfortunately, my mind was easily bored, so I decided to hike around.

When my bag was half filled with water, it stopped raining and the sun broke through the clouds. Day 2 had definitely arrived. It all seemed so surreal, the environment was so beautiful and innocent.

Suddenly I shook so heavily I tripped. It was the cannon. Someone was dead. Nine to go until the final twelve. Maybe it was someone I knew. I hoped with all my heart that was not the case.

Eventually I decided to find my way back to the poisonous puddle. From there I could orientate a bit – I knew it was northern of the Cornucopia. I found it back, surprisingly easily. The dead body was gone, thank God. There were still blood splatters on the ground. My stomach turned around and I sat down. What time was it? Eight o'clock? It was very hot. Maybe I had to take off more clothes. Why did these temperatures change so much?

I sat there for a while, staring at the clear 'water' and the trees around me. At last I became a bit hungry again, so I decided to explore the bushes around this place to see if there were any edible plants I recognized: blueberries, for example. Or blackberries.

I had to search very well, but I found a well-hidden blackberry bush. I was relieved, I knew for sure I could eat them. I was worried about my backpack and weapon while I started picking and eating. They were hundred meters away, what if someone stole them?

I felt uncomfortable, picked some more berries and then made my way back. When I came closer, I realized something was not right again. There was someone at the puddle. This time it was a girl. She was leaning forward to drink some of the liquid….

'STOP!' I yelled.

From the moment I saw the long, black hair I knew it was Lisa. I would recognize her from miles away. My heart was beating, I was running fast and shouted again that she had to stop.

She looked up, frightened. I ran out of the bushes, threw myself on top of her and held her away from the puddle.

'It's poison!' I screamed.

'But I'm thirsty!' she cried. She had a mad look in her eyes.

'Drink some of this.' I said, and handed her the water-filled bag. 'Thank you' she said, and she started drinking immediately.

'I can't believe it!' I said. I was happy, confused and worried again. Lisa was alive! I found her! She was really here!

'I'm so glad I found you' she said 'I've been searching for you for a day now. I knew you were on the other side of the arena, so I went looking for you. I was right.'

'You are so smart' I said, smiling 'Haven't you drunken anything since yesterday morning?'

She nodded. 'I'm sorry, the water looked so delicious and I thought it was safe. I didn't think.'

'It's not your fault. Yesterday someone died here.' I said while I pointed at the blood signs on the ground. She shuddered and returned the bag. 'Here, I think we have to be very economical with this. It's very hot.'

'Yes' I said, but I knew we were thinking the same thing: with these temperatures the both of us wouldn't survive two days on this water. Well, maybe that was enough to belong in the final twelve, but we couldn't afford to take risks.

'Do you have any supplies?' I asked, hoping that it would be something useful.

'No, not really. Some bandage, an empty water bottle and three tiny pieces of bread.'

'What happened to you the past day? Tell me everything!' I begged.

'Er, as soon as the gong went I saw a backpack, so I went to get it, but some long dude tackled me and wanted to kill me, but he let me go. I don't know who he was. He did cut in my arm, though.' She showed me a dirty, ill-brought up bandage around her arm. It was sickening, smelly and it looked painful. 'Go on' I said.

'Then I ran into the woods. I had no idea where Annie was and I knew Poppy wouldn't want to help me. They have been provided with body armors, you know. It covers everything except for the head. She and Mason have their camp at the Cornucopia, all inclusive. Sleeping bags, tents and stuff. However, I went looking for you and on my way here I spied on some people, most of the times they didn't even know I was there while I was sitting two meters behind them.'

'That's not strange. You are just not very tall.' We both laughed and she continued.

'I know a lot of things now, and there is huge problem concerning water.'

'What?' I asked.

'I suspect' she said slowly 'that the only healthy spring in the whole arena is in the mountains, and I think I know exactly where. A group of tributes from the East have formed an alliance, they call themselves the 'Eastern Warriors'. They camp at the spring. They are not very good or strong, actually they're rather stupid, but good enough to kill anyone who dares to come close to the spring. Their tactic is smart – if no one has access to the water, then soon enough most people will die from hydration.'

'That is not so good' I said. It was actually horrible. What if it was the only spring?

'So far they've made one victim, this guy from eleven who died this morning. He tried to get water from the spring, but failed. And I think the Gamemakers made it rain this morning so the tributes would have a bit of water, but not enough to survive, so that they have to face the Eastern Warriors, or die. They want a confrontation…and if that doesn't occur, we will indeed die from thirst.'

'What do we do?' I asked. I was slightly panicking.

'I don't know.' She responded.

I started thinking for a while. 'Let's do it' I said eventually.

'Are you mad?' said Lisa.

'No, you know, what's the difference between dying tonight or dying tomorrow? We will die anyway. Why not try at least, try to come close?' I was amazed by my own courage.

'Let's visit the Eastern Warriors tonight then' said Lisa.


	24. A very bad plan

We probably left around twelve o'clock. It was the hottest part of the day and because I could stand cold better than heat, I was having a hard time. My skin was coloring red and I felt like a chicken on the barbecue. Lisa, however, was less bothered by the sun. Her skin was slightly darker than mine and she didn't tan or sunburn.

We didn't have a strict plan. We had to figure something out as soon as we arrived at the Eastern Warrior campsite. We already realized the journey would be heavy – it was hot, far and we had to travel through various landscapes: forest, then we would enter a deep dale with needle trees and then we would reach the mountains, which were all rock and ravines. We assumed the Warriors would make a fire so we could locate their camp.

'Come on' I said to Lisa while we made our way to the forest.

'I'm trying' she answered 'my stomach hurts. And I'm hungry.'

I wasn't annoyed by her complains, strangely. Usually I was easily annoyed by whiny people.

'I really want to cross the dale while there's still daylight. I think that needle forest will become as creepy as hell when it's dark.' I said. I'd never been there, but it didn't look like a nice place. The tall, dark trees and the mountains rising in front of you…

'Hey, where did you get that spear?' Lisa asked.

'The boy at the puddle carried it.' I said 'why?'

She laughed. 'I think this is the only one in the arena, there were mostly swords and knives at the Cornucopia. Poppy chased that guy for over five minutes, I've seen it. She wanted her weapon, but she didn't get it.'

'Good' I giggled 'Then that Peter kid was probably tough.'

'Probably' said Lisa. We didn't say anything for a while and continued our way through the forest. Now and then we took a zip from the water or ate some blackberries. We needed food too.

I was anxious for tonight. Maybe I would die. Maybe not. Maybe Lisa would die. Maybe not. There were so many scenarios possible my mind was a blur. From moment to moment we looked over our shoulders if someone wasn't following us. Luckily, we saw nobody.

We talked a bit about Annie. Where was she? Was she alright? No cannon had sounded since tomorrow, so she had to be alive. Maybe she'd make it to the final twelve. It was a sick thought that it was impossible for the four of us to reach that. At least one of us would die here, right? Otherwise it would be suspicious, four tributes from District 4 in the last top 12. After an hour or two, we reached the edge of the forest. We could overlook almost the whole southern part of the arena. It was possible to descend to the dale from here. We saw the mountains, and I also saw a sparkle in the sunlight.

'Is that…?' I asked slowly.

'Yes. There is their camp, it's the spring' Lisa stated. I looked closely, and she was right.

'How far is it? Two kilometers?' I asked. She shook her head.

'No, more. Maybe five. The dale is at least three. I suspect-' she paused for a minute 'that the arena ends behind the mountain peaks.'

'Why?' I asked.

'It is impossible to cross the mountain range. There are no good paths. The arena has to end somewhere, and I think there.'

I said nothing 'why are you so smart and I'm not?'

Lisa laughed 'Chase was probably wrong when he told me intelligence wasn't going to help me in these Games like it would in the Hunger Games in Panem. Guess he was wrong.'

I smiled and felt slightly guilty. I was always so focusing on the idea that Gabriella and Poppy were my best friends, that I forgot how Lisa was also always there for me. Now it was clear who had actually been one of my best friends. And the name didn't start with the letter P.

'We have to hurry. The sun is going down fast.' Lisa said.

It had already disappeared behind the mountains when we made our way down to the dale. The descend was dangerous and full of moving pebbles, but eventually we made it. It was still light, but we had to be fast. I lost all my courage when we stood in front of the needle forest. It was creepier than I expected it to be.

This was really the kind of wood where you would encounter a bear. Or a wolf, or something worse. –It's the only way, I told myself, it's the only path to water. I was hoping that not many other tributes had decided to visit the spring tonight.

It's only three kilometers. The distance to school. Come on. Just walk on.

I'm not a courageous person, I'm actually a coward. That's why I was trembling with fear when the last sunlight disappeared and tall trees surrounded us. I hated needles. They seemed a lot nicer on the Christmas tree.

Lisa held the knife and I held the spear while we marched through the woods. We could hear an owl sometimes –thank you, Gamemakers-, which marked the creepy ambiance. The only positive point was that it was cooler here than on the higher grounds.

I had never been so frightened before. I saw the dead Sophie or Gabriella appearing in the silhouette of every tree. They died a week ago, but it felt longer.

'I'm scared' I whispered to Lisa, not afraid to admit it 'me too' she answered.

We had to be miles away from the Cornucopia and luckily, from Mason, who had not yet tried to kill me, thank God.

From time to time we said a couple of things to each other but we both knew all we wanted was to reach the mountains as fast as we could. We were getting closer, the 'path' was climbing higher.

At last there were less trees and more rocks. We started climbing, which was actually fairly easy: there were good places to stand and walk.

'I think we need to go that way' whispered Lisa. She pointed east, and I followed her. I was heavier than she was, so I had to do more effort not to fall. It was actually quite high.

We were at the same height as the tops of the needle trees.

We continued, and after a while I whispered: 'Look!'

A small, flickering light was visible. It were at least fifty meters higher, but we could spot the Eastern Warriors fire.

'We have to get closer.' Lisa said.

It was nerve wrecking when we crept closer and closer. We finally reached the flat stone platform where the camp was. There were several large stones in front of us, where we could hide behind and spy on them, hoping to get a plan.

'What did you want to show us, Irina?' asked a skinny, dark boy to a blonde girl.

'Why are they speaking Western?' I asked Lisa.

'You see that guy over there? That's Wolgar. He's from 23. He probably never learned Eastern. I wonder why he is in their group.' Answered Lisa.

That made sense. District 23 was one of the three Districts which were neither East or West, so they learned both habits and languages. This guy probably never learned the Eastern Language, so they had to speak Western. People from East could speak Western, but people from West couldn't speak Eastern. We were lazy, spoilt brats, I thought sadly.

'This, my dear Wolgar, is a T.B' said the girl named Irina and she held a thing which looked like a lighter. I heard Lisa held her breath in shock.

'What does it mean?' I asked 'What is that?'

'It's a powerful little device from District 16, I wonder where she got it! Oh my God, oh my God.' She was trembling.

Shit. Devices from District 16 usually meant nuclear terror.

'It was damn hard to keep it all the time, but these idiots at the Head City never caught me. Look, this thing is going to help the four of us to escape.' Irina said.

She wasn't going to use it to kill all the others?

'It can create a hole in the force-field, which is right behind us. One click on this thing and it blows up the stupid shield. We escape and the rest of the tributes will be punished.'

Was she really that stupid? The Gamemakers were able to see anything, and now they would probably do something to kill her, her friends and anyone close to the group.

Wait. We were close.

'Lisa?' I asked. She didn't react. I turned to her, but saw she was completely frozen and staring at something behind us. I froze immediately too and I didn't want to turn around, but I probably had to.

Two huge, yellow-eyed wolf-mutts with enormous teeth were standing five meters away from us.


	25. The end of the Warriors

I wasn't paralyzed, like most people would be at the sight of these terrifying creatures. I stood up as quick as I could, not paying attention to Lisa or anyone else, started screaming and jumped over the stones that protected us from the Eastern Warriors. When they saw me, they seemed surprised, but then they saw the wolves behind me they started screaming too and panicked. I also spotted another tribute who was spying on the Warriors. He stood up and started to run away. I looked around, looking for a way to escape. When a path to the needle wood caught my eye, I sprinted to the other side of the camp, made my way to the rocky path and tripped. I started to roll down the path. It hurt like shit, but I had to run. Another boy was behind me, also running away, and together we made our way down to the woods, but when he passed me the sharp teeth of one of the wolves caught his leg and he started to cry.

I heard several noises behind me – screams from fear, cries from pain and the wolf sounds. Irina's terrible calls for help stopped when a wolf caught her. I didn't turn around, I focused on the woods in front of me and ignored pain from the several trip wounds. I had no idea if someone or a mutt was chasing me. The cannon went of nonstop. I didn't count, but at least three people were already dead. When I entered the wood, I was happier than before that the tall, sharp trees were around me. I sprinted on for several minutes, then I had the courage to look over my shoulder. No one was behind me, but the mutts could be anywhere.

All I could hear were some soft and weak noises from the people at the Eastern Warriors camp. They were probably all dead now.

I jogged on for a while and then decided to climb a tree. It was horrible, because I was in much pain, but I managed to reach a thick branch. Unless there were flying mutts in the arena, I was safe for the moment.

My breathing became calmer when it got later. It had to be around midnight. Soon I knew if Lisa survived. The idea of some wolf eating her or tearing her apart was so disgusting I almost had to vomit.

I looked at my legs. On the right one was a big cut, probably caused by a sharp rock while I rolled down after tripping. I was covered in dirt and sand. I had no water to treat the wounds.

I sat there for a while, wondering what I had to do. I had no water, no food, I was hurt and helpless. On the other side, many people died there in the mountains. Maybe we were already close to the final twelve.

Never thought I'd reach it. Then I would be taken out of this terrible arena. It was not yet the time to wonder about what terrible things they would do to us then. There would be one winner, not twelve. So the final twelve was maybe not so good after all.

The anthem started playing. Oh shit. In case Lisa died, she would be the first to appear…but it wasn't her.

Another boy from 11, the friend of the one who was killed this morning, turned out to be the other tribute spying on the Eastern Warriors. His name was Linden.

Next was  
Irina. She was from District 16, just like Peter the puddle boy. So they were friends too.

The wolf mutts were probably destined to kill Irina, because she was dumb enough to reveal her plan to blow up the force field by saying it out loud. The Gamemakers put as quick as they could something in the arena to kill her. And they wouldn't mind other victims, which were shown now too.

Wolgars face followed. District 23. Hm.

Finally a boy from District 30, who looked like Stavros.

It was strange that some tributes who were from the same District, like 30 or 11, didn't ally. Why was this boy here and not with his friend Stavros? Maybe it was too hard seeing each other suffer. Or maybe it was just difficult to find each other.

It was silent again. I counted the deaths. There were four today. That was pretty much. I wasn't a good calculator, but I knew there were still seventeen tributes left. Seventeen! I made it to the final seventeen, out of hundred and sixty!

My happiness disappeared quickly when I saw a little wasp at my foot. It was buzzing and circling around the branch where I was sitting on.

Before I could kill it or hit it or do anything to make it go away, it stung me in my leg.

I felt a terrible, burning pain and suddenly I remembered the name of this little, innocent wasp.

It was Tracker Jacker. Possesses powerful venom which causes horrible pain and passes the victim out for several hours.

Oh shit. I felt it. I was going to fall out of this tree.

Before everything went dark, I could feel I was slipping out of the tree.

**Hope you like it! I have a lot of free time lately, so more time to put up a new chapter! Maybe new chapter tomorrow, where something even more horrible is going to happen...tell me what you think! :)**


	26. The unforgivable treason

When I woke up, everything was light. It had to be midday again. For a moment I was disoriented, but everything came back fast. Oh God.

The wolves and their sharp teeth flickering in the moonlight. The helpless cries of all the victims. My injuries and the Tracker Jacker. I grabbed my leg and looked at the place where the thing stung me. There was a huge mark there and it still burned. I bit my lip and then realized I had no injury after falling out of the tree. That was a relief, I could have broken a bone. I had been unconscious for how long? At least ten hours. How many deaths? Where was Lisa? Was Annie still alive?

I was laying on my back in a bush and the sun was shining on my face. It was not as hot as yesterday, but still warm. I was incredibly thirsty and hungry. I had to gather food.

The needle wood was less creepy than yesterday. Actually it was quite peaceful. We were halfway the third day – maybe I was safe here for a while.

However, of course I was not right. Because I heard footsteps.

My heart was bouncing in my throat when I ducked in the bush. The noises were approaching from the north, so I checked if I was invisible in my bush. I could overlook a little space in the woods with no trees. I waited while I laid in the bush. Who was it this time?

I peeked through the leafs while a tall girl stepped into the free space. My mouth fell open.

It was Poppy. It was really her. She wore her long hair in a ponytail. Her clothes were dirty, but not as dirty as mine. And there was no cut or wound to be found on her skin. I tried to make a sum in my head and realized she had to hand in her body armour today. Maybe she wasn't protected anymore. Maybe I could…no.

Sick thought. No. I was not going to kill her. And by the way, Mason was probably near (when that thought reached my mind, I became a bit sick) and if he saw me, my life was over.

Oh shit, oh shit. Which weird situation was going on? First the wolves, then her! I prayed she didn't see me. That would complicate things. I didn't trust her, I hadn't got the slightest idea if she would be able to kill me. What was she doing her? Her camp was at the Cornucopia?

I laid as still as possible and watched the bizarre events happening.

Poppy's eyes narrowed, looked around and finally she whispered: 'all clear'.

When things couldn't get any worse, they did. Mason joined her. He appeared between the trees with some large backpacks over his shoulders and he was holding a big, sharp knife.

I had almost forgot how much I hated him (and feared him).

I noticed I was stroking my spear, which I held in my hand. I lost my backpack in the mountains, but I kept the spear close to me. What if I was able to end Masons life and then someone else would be ready to kill his girlfriend? What a wonderful thought.

Ok. I had to stop. These freaking, non-Indiana-polite-school-girl thoughts were weird.

Mason smiled at her and I also saw he wore a big sword over his shoulder.

'I wish I was there, the wolf-attack' Poppy said 'It sounded like fun'

I was disgusted. Absolutely disgusted. This was my best friend? I had to tell Gabriella she had been my true best friend, once I would meet her in heaven.

Somewhat away a few birds flew away. The duo looked up.

'Maybe someone's there. Shall we take a look? I'm bored to death, I want some fun' said Mason while he was staring at this knife. 'Jesus, I thought this would be more exciting. Even in Panem it's more thrilling.'

I held my spear tighter. Of course I understood why Poppy fell for this lad. He was probably handsome, charismatic and vicious in her eyes.

'Well, maybe your expectations were a bit high.' Said Poppy, still alert for others.

Mason raised his eyebrows 'How many still to go before the next round?'

'Probably seventeen. I believe five died yesterday.' She answered.

'Well, you can have three and then I'll take two then, honey' he laughed 'and then there are so few left there's almost no competition anymore. The final twelve, like that's something awesome. I think it's lame. Only the victor is awesome.'

'Totally' she said 'Where is the cut-medicine, by the way? That bitch from this morning cut me in my arm.'

'It's in the red backpack' Mason answered 'Do you need help?'

'No, I'm fine, thanks' Poppy said and while she was searching through her stuff she was ranting about a girl who attacked them this morning.

'And like, she was dumb enough to try, you know. So then I stabbed her and she fell and then we left. But I didn't hear a cannon. I guess we didn't kill her. She was from District 30, right? Whatever, she hurt me.'

It was like she was talking about the boy who broke her heart when we were still in our freshman year. An endless, boring rant about how stupid he was.

Mason was cleaning his sword with his shirt and when he was done, he walked up to her and kissed her. I looked away. It was like watching her kissing our math teacher.

When the snog sounds were over, I dared to look again. Amazing that they hadn't discovered me yet.

Something apparently caught Poppy's attention. She was staring at one point in the bushes on the other side. Concentrated and tense. I tried to see where she was looking at, but it was invisible.

'What is it?' asked Mason.

'Traitor' whispered a third person. I had to smash my hand against my mouth to prevent a long and terrified scream.

Mason jumped in front of Poppy and yelled: 'Who are you!'

'Oh, you know me' said the person, and then she stepped out of the shadows.

It was Annie. This was the first time I saw her since we left the hovercraft to enter the arena. She looked healthy and strong, but so angry her face was almost strange.

What was she doing here? She had to run! Mason had a sword behind his back!

This was not good at all. And I could do nothing.

'I never trusted you, you know' said Annie to Poppy 'You were bullied at elementary school. And the thoughts you had back then were not so sanitary for a eleven year old. You see, my brother told me how strange you were back then. Always the dark, ugly fatty. Why are you now pretty? Did you took laxatives? Threw up a lot?'

'The goal is more important than the things you need to do to achieve it' said Poppy coldly.

'Yeah, right. And then the Games started, so I watched your back all the time. I turned out to be right about you, I know what you are. You are a traitor, a reliable user, a loser and you will never win this game.'

'Shut up' said Poppy 'I will kill you'

Annie laughed. 'I'd love to see you try. You can't catch me. You were always jealous at me because I was the only girl in class who was better at sports than you.'

'Bullshit'

Poppy had hardly spoken that word or her sword aimed directly into Annie's hand.

'That hurts, bitch!' shouted Annie. Mason didn't do anything. It seemed like he wanted to help, but he also was amused. I however, was so terrified I couldn't move. Was this really happening? Was Annie fighting with Poppy?  
It was awful to see. They really were fighting. The thought of them killing each other was surreal. It wasn't going to happen. And why did Poppy never tell me anything about her being bullied?

Poppy laughed at Annie, who missed her several times. It was hardly a fair fight. Annie only had a knife, while Poppy brought a complete arsenal with Mason.

I had to help her, but how? I couldn't reveal myself, that would be suicide! But I couldn't let Annie die!

'Take that!' yelled Annie and she stabbed Poppy in her leg. Poppy fell on the ground. Mason didn't move, and in that short time he seemed frozen, Annie bowed forward to take one of Poppy's weapons, but when she got up again, Poppy's fingers suddenly closed around her neck. She was strangling Annie. It was horrible to see and I couldn't breathe. Annie turned white and struggled, but it didn't help. After a minute or so, it seemed like ages, the struggle stopped and Annie fell down. Poppy grabbed her sword, stabbed Annie twice in the stomach and stood still after that. She closed her eyes and turned her head away from the dying girl.

My eyes switched from the blood to my former best friend's face and suddenly everything in front of my eyes became red. I wanted to see blood too, I was so angry at her I could kill her and I hated her so much, so much…she killed a friend.

She really did it. She killed Annie. Annie was dead or almost dead. How could she? She was going to pay for this, this was the most horrible thing that could happen in the Games. And it didn't matter to me anymore. Nothing mattered. All I wanted was to face the witch.

I rushed out of the bush and screamed 'YOU FUCKING BITCH!'.

Poppy, who was already walking away from the open space holding Masons hand, turned around. Her face showed a lot of emotions. Regret, pain, anger, surprisement, even happiness.

'How could you! HOW COULD YOU!' This monster had to vanish.

'Shut up, Indiana. Be wise and go away. Now.' She said. Masons smile wasn't very pleasant.

'Oh, so you give me a fair chance, and not her? Not Annie?' I argued loudly.

I saw a fast move, a silver lightning and the next thing I noticed was a terrible pain in my waist. A silver dagger had sunk deep into my flesh. I was surprised and then my legs became weak. The blood was warm and it poured out of my waist. I fell on the ground, next to Annie.

'I warned you.' Said Poppy. She wanted to turn around, but Mason stopped her.

'Wait' he said. Was he going to stab me another time, to make sure I would die? Was that it?

I felt several warm fingers touching my arm. I wanted to smash them away, but I did not have the strength. I realized he took my spear.

'Here you go' he said to Poppy 'It belongs to you'.

She didn't say anything, turned around and along with Mason she disappeared in the woods.

I started to cry. I had nothing else to do. The pain was unbearable.

'Annie…' I said, and grabbed her hand because she was lying next to me.

'Get them' she said so weakly I could hardly hear it. Her mouth formed a miniscule smile, then her eyes became empty and the cannon went off.

I had sort of a flashback to the maze, where Gabriella died in front of me. The only difference was that I was dying too now.

There were still three of us left. In a few minutes two. Lisa had to face Poppy sooner or later. She would want to get revenge, right? It was sad, Annie's chances were good, but because this demon they were taken away from her.

It all didn't matter anymore. I would be dying soon.

I sang a song in my head, very softly, and waited for death to come.

But it didn't.

**This was a really hard chapter to write & translate, but I finished it and I hope you like it (or not, of course, because the *cough* events). I hope you guys review, I'd really like that :)**

**BTW: Kurskin, you need to relax :p. I have a little spoiler for you - Indiana will kill three people. Significant ones...**


	27. Meeting again

'Indiana?'

It echoed. My head was completely empty. The sound went into my one ear and flew out of my other one in an instant. What sound was it?

'Indiana, can you hear me?'

_Stop it, _I thought, _I don't feel like listening_. Then a warm, soft finger touched my arm. It felt familiar, I had experienced it before, but I didn't remember when. The finger poked twice, and the places it hit burnt.

Colors were flickering in front of me. Mostly black, but also shades of white, grey and green. However, everything became lighter my the second.

The green was probably coming from the grazing lands at home, in District 4. I was in my bed. My mother was speaking to me. Yeah, that was it. White was the sky.

But the black faded away. Suddenly I realized it was so hot, I was burning. Maybe my body temperature was high, maybe the weather temperatures were high. Maybe both, I didn't know.

Jesus, it was so hot. Was the heater on?

'Indiana' cried someone 'please'.

It wasn't my mother's voice. I didn't recognize this one. It was neither my sister's, or Poppy's, or Gabriella's, or Lisa's, or Sophie's, or Annie's, or Elizabeth's.

Hold on. Who was Elizabeth? I never met someone called Elizabeth. Why was the name in my list of people? What was going on? I was dizzy and I coughed.

'O, thank God' said the voice. I still couldn't identify it, and where was I?

Elizabeth.

Chase. Panther. Oh my God, this wasn't a bad dream. I was really there. I wasn't in my bed, I was in the arena with an insane tribute next to me who was ready to slit my throat as soon as I lifted my head. I was so disorientated I didn't even realize that.

I groaned and coughed again.

'What do I need to do, what do I need to do?' said the voice panicking. It was a girl, that was obvious. I wanted to open my eyes, but what if she killed me? Playing dead wasn't an option.

'Are you awake?' she asked.

Was I awake? All I knew was that I was hungry.

Wait, I was in the arena. The New Games' arena. My name was Indiana.

Apart from the heat, hunger and thirst, another annoying thing irritated me: my thigh felt like it was burning. It hurt so bad.

'Indiana!' said the voice, and this time I really listened. Where did the pain come from, by the way? What did I do? Was I attacked?

'Is your heart still beating?' she asked. This was bizarre, why didn't she kill me? Me, a helpless little wounded tribute who cannot protect herself or her friends?

I tried to open my eyes, and I succeeded. The colors were intense, and the sunlight too.

'You are awake' said the voice. I was lying on my back and I was staring at the high needle trees and the blue sky.

'Water. Food' that was all I could say.

'I'm sorry, I don't have it' she said. I didn't dare to turn my head to see her, it felt like I would break a bone if I tried. Getting up; same story.

'Who are you?' I whispered.

'Rebecca' she murmured 'You remember me? We talked at the interviews, four or five days ago.' She sounded enthusiastic but also careful.

Was she afraid of something? Was she afraid of me?

'Yeah, I remember' I said. Vaguely, but I remembered. District 9.

Then I heard the voice of Chase in my head. 'You can't trust anyone' he said once 'so do not ally.' Well, he was probably way too busy to see my actions. He had three others to keep alive.

Something wasn't right about that thought, but it wasn't the time to care about that.

'Where's Lisa?' I asked softly, and I managed to turn my head a little bit so I could see my companions appearance. Rebecca looked healthy. Brown hair, blue eyes.

'I don't know' she said 'but you are okay…well, not quite, but we'll figure something out.'

I looked down and saw my body. My middle was covered in blood. My blood. It was disgusting. And then I remembered how I got it. The silver lightning of the dagger and Poppy's evil look. How long was it ago? Minutes, hours? A day?

God, I was going to kill that bitch.

'I don't feel well' I said, and black spots appeared.

'It's the Tracker Jacker sting' she said, and she pointed at my leg, which was swollen.

'However, I treated it, so that won't bother you anymore soon enough. But you have fever. And maybe the stab wound will infect if we don't treat it.'

'Why are you helping me?' I asked sharply 'Why don't you just kill me now?'

She looked deeply offended, like someone punched her in the face. Then her expression changed to a sad one.

'You are not the only one who tries to remain sane and human. You are not the only one who doesn't want to kill people to survive.'

'Sorry' I said.

'Can you get up?'

'No' I said instantly.

'Well, that's good news, because there is medicine! A few minutes before you woke up, a sponsor gift arrived. I had to wait until you woke up, so can I put it up?' she asked.

A sponsor gift? Medicine? Did I have sponsors? It cheered me up.

The feeling of healing wounds is a wonderful one. Within a few minutes I felt remarkably better because the wound in my thigh healed. It was now a pink scar.

But still, the heat, hunger and thirst were unbearable.

'I thought, maybe we could look for water. I am so thirsty I could drink my pee. I had one water bottle from the Cornucopia, but I haven't drunken anything in a day.' She said.

I managed to sit instead of lay. I leaned against a tree. We were still at the needle forest.

I was sweaty and warm.

'Just give me a minute' I said 'and I will be able to get up. I know where water is'

The spring at the mountains. Now the Eastern Warriors were long gone, it should be safe.

Then a big, dark red spot on the ground caught my eye. Blood. It was next to where I was laying.

Annie. Everything came back. My eyes filled with tears. She was really gone. I wasn't able to safe her, I didn't do it.

Rebecca saw me. 'I know' she said 'it will be okay.'

'No, it will not! Annie was my friend!' I cried.

'Please' she said angrily 'You have to learn that not everything goes as you want it to go! You are so egoistic, you need to work on that. What do you think of me? I lost all my friends, four girls, in the preliminaries. You still got two left, and you got to spend more time with three of your friends that I could!' She took a deep breath after her rant.

I said nothing. I knew she was right, I heard that before. Still, I did not consider myself a bitch. I was a weakling, that was true, but I just cared about my friends.

'I'm sorry about your friends' I said.

'The winner will lose everything in these Games' she said melancholic 'Well, still fifteen to go.'

So there were sixteen left. No deaths since Annie. That was probably yesterday then. And I was probably going to survive these hours, which was a weird idea.

'I know that Mason and Poppy are still alive, you, me, Lisa, Stavros, Emmerick and his friend, a guy called Adolph, a girl from 31 whose name started with a 'L'…I don't know any others. I have ten people, who are the others?' she said.

'Lex, from District 1. And there was a girl who belonged to the Eastern Warriors who survived the mutt-attack.' I added.

'And four others who we don't know. Who do you think will win?' Rebecca asked.

'Don't know. Mason or Poppy.' I said 'would be fun, a finale with those two. They will never kill each other off.'

Rebecca laughed. 'What about yourself, don't you have faith in yourself? You made it to the final sixteen, out of 160.'

'All luck. I don't deserve to be alive. I can't go wild. And I could never kill somebody, so I would never win.' I said ironically.

'Everyone has a beast inside of him.' She spoke 'well, I think killing would be hard, but if my life depended on it, I would. By the way, do you know that Stavros is really insane? I passed his camp by accident once, and he was chewing on a branch. Next to him was a long, bloody knife. He was speaking to himself. He's really scary' she said, shuddering.

It was silent for a moment, until I decided we had to go to the spring.

'Come on' I said 'It will be safe. Maybe we will be in the final twelve tomorrow. Finally something to look forward to.'

And while I had fever, was weak and hurt, I got up, knew what I had to do and faced the arena together with my new-found ally.

**The top twelve is coming closer and new horrors are waiting for the heros who manage to survive this arena. Who will be in the final twelve...?**


	28. A note from Chase

Although I still felt feverish, I stood up and smiled to Rebecca. 'Let's go to the spring. I think it is not a long walk, maybe half an hour.' I said, and pointed to the north.

'Can you walk?' she asked.

'Yes, but it hurts.' I had to face the pain. There was no other way. I had no idea how I would have handled this situation three weeks ago, when I was free of sorrows. I had learnt more from these Games than I ever had in ten years school.

Rebecca got her stuff. She had a backpack. Maybe if I was lucky, I would find mine back at the spring. However, maybe it was stolen.

'Let's go, fast' she said 'I'm dying of thirst. It's so warm.'

We started walking. She told me about District 9 while we made our way out of the forest.

'It is freezing in the winter' she said 'so it's bad luck that it's so hot here. I can handle the cold much better. But the summers are nice. The south is probably like your home, District 4. Rainy, grey, damp. The north is just cold.'

She said it was common that the sun wouldn't appear for a month or more in the winter. I couldn't imagine that. They had huge needle woods, just like these, in District 9.

It all sounded very nice and cozy, like it was always Christmas there. I liked Christmas, it was the only time of the year the people were really happier and everyone had something to eat.

Usually the snow would fall. I hadn't seen snow for a long time, and I would never again, I realized bitterly, aware of the heat here. It had to be around December in the normal world. It was mid-November when we left District 4. Maybe it was already close to Christmas.

'Look, there it is' I said. We could see the Eastern Warriors campsite –their fire wood was still there. We climbed the last meters, a lot faster than we normally would and ran to the spring. I did not think, I knew the water was safe. It wasn't poison.

I took my clothes off and dived into the ice-cold water. The spring was not big, but big enough, maybe six square meters. I cleaned my body, washed my face and my injuries and drank a lot. Rebecca did the same thing.

'This is wonderful' I said. The water was a gift from heaven – it was a cooler in the heat.

When we were done with some childish splattering and splashing, we just sat in the water and enjoyed the view. The arena was amazing from here. We were rather high, so we could see everything. The sun was already going down so everything had an orange glow. The moment was magical, calm and perfect, and I was able to think of something else besides all the misery I'd been through. What if I wan? I could go home then.

However, then Lisa would be dead. And that was not going to happen. Poor Annie. Her chances were good.

'It must have been a battlefield here, last night.' Rebecca murmured. I didn't know where she was talking about, but then I finally saw it.

Numerous body parts laid on the stones around us and could be found all over the campsite. Fingers, a foot, even an eyeball. And loads of blood. They all once belonged to a living creature. It was sickening. I hadn't even noticed it before.

I would have vomited three weeks ago, but now it did nothing except making me feel bad.

'We need to go' I said 'It will be dark soon, others will come now some of them know it is safe to get water here.'

She nodded and we got out of the water. I walked around to find my backpack- it was behind a big rock. I also found Lisa's. She was still alive, despite she didn't have supplies. Smart girl.

Lisa's backpack contained an empty water bottle and some other, useless stuff.

'So, where will we go?' She asked.

'The forest, the Cornucopia. I think we need to get as far away as we can.' I said. We had to cross the needle wood again and climb up to the forest before it went dark.

The journey was heavy because I didn't feel well and it became darker and darker. On top of that, it became colder by the minute. The temperature differences were huge – it was very hot around midday and now it was maybe fifteen degrees. It was going to be a very cold night, and my clothes and hair were still wet from the spring, so that made it extra freezing.

'We made it' said Rebecca and we sat down at the edge of the forest. We could overlook the arena again – this time we had a view on the mountains.

'Shall we stay here tonight? It's a well hidden spot and we have a good view.' I said.

'It's OK.'

It was silent for a moment. I was slightly hungry, but because my stomach was filled with water I could handle it. We watched the sun go down, but we shook when the cannon went off.

Jesus, still three to go until the final twelve. Maybe we would be freed from this arena tomorrow.

'Who will it be this time?' Rebecca murmured.

'We'll find out at twelve' I said.

'It's getting so cold' she whispered.

She was right. I was surprised when I noticed I couldn't feel my hands anymore. A little fire would be great, but that was suicide. We waited until it was dark and heard the daily deaths.

It was Lex, from District 1. His portrait stared at us. I felt sad, I never spoke with him, but I knew he was just an ordinary boy whose life was ruined by these Games, literally.

'Goodnight, Tributes!' said a loud voice. We both looked up. 'There will be a feast tomorrow, at dawn. I recommend to each and every one of you to go, because there will be something you may desperately need. Please, come.'

As soon as it was silent again, I immediately shouted 'I'm not going!'. Rebecca laughed: 'Don't you want a nice and warm sleeping bag or something?'.

That sounded tempting, but I still shook my head. 'No hesitation. Don't you see? This feast will lead to the final three deaths here. I won't risk my life to get something I might not even need because we will be taken out of this arena soon.'

'Well, I'm going' she said 'I'm going to die anyway. Maybe not by a sword, but by the cold.'

I don't really remember what happened next. I probably well asleep, overwhelmed by fatigue, cold and everything else. However, when I woke up, I was alone.

When I opened my eyes, everything was weird. I was all wet and muddy, and everything around me was light and white. It was snowing. I couldn't feel my body anymore, I felt terrible and so cold my hands were blue. It was dawn and Rebecca was gone. She went to the feast. My mind was too crowded to worry about her fate, and an annoying, steady _beep _bothered me. It sounded like an alarm clock. I turned my head and saw a sponsor gift capsule a few meters away. Wow. People sponsored me. What would be in there? It was sort of big.

I crawled to the capsule and while the snow fell, I tried to open it with my shaky hands.

I saw something gold inside of it, and a note fell out. The words were scribbled in a messy way, like the author was in a haste.

_Indiana, _

_It is highly forbidden for a mentor to send messages with the sponsor gifts, but I'm convinced that no one noticed. This capsule contains a bathing suit, but that isn't important now._

_I want you to know what they are planning to do with the final twelve, so you can mentally prepare. You need that if you want to survive, because this time you won't be able to escape or use logic to survive. The Head City is planning something what they call 'Face to Face fights', which means that they throw two people in a small arena and they will fight to the death. You know, face to face. There will be six fights, because there are twelve contestants left, so six will proceed to the next round, the semifinals. Only one can survive, and goes on to the next round, the other just dies. Like I said, you can't rely on intelligence, just on your strength and brutality to survive this. Which means you will probably have to say goodbye to Lisa anytime soon._

_She won't stand a chance against some people who are in the arena. I'm sending this note to you because all I want in this competition is your survival. Not Poppy's, not Lisa's. Yours._

_Chase._

Just when I wanted to start crying the cannon went off. The feast had begun. Only two more left to go before I would be taken out of this arena into another where someone would kill me. This time I would really die. Oh God.

And Lisa! She would never survive these Face to Face fights…the cannon went off again.

Maybe Rebecca was dead. Or Mason, or Poppy, or Stavros or one of the others who don't know anything about what is waiting for them in the next round.

When another cannon fired, the third one, it was definitive. The final twelve. Three deaths at the feast made twelve tributes left. I made it to the final twelve.

And now I had to fight like the Gladiators used to do thousands of years ago in present District 31.


	29. Colosseum

It was impossible. How did I make the final twelve? How? I wasn't strong, smart, vicious or ready to fight. I didn't possess any traits a true victor should have.

Now I had to participate in the Face to Face fights, where I would certainly die. I would be confronted with my fate, no escape possible this time. Luck wouldn't help me, it was just me.

I wondered if dying hurts.

Then I heard the president's voice. It was calling from the arena sky. I didn't listen, because it would be the usual crappy announcement of our heroic deeds. I was half unconscious too, because everything was frozen around me. It was like I was slowly losing myself. Well, maybe it was better than be murdered in a fights.

When the presidents voice stopped, I heard hovercrafts. They made a terrible noise and they were coming closer. When I heard other voices, real voices this time, I didn't even bother to move.

'Take the stretcher with you!' shouted a man. They were obviously struggling to make their way to me in the snow storm. Well, welcome to the arena, where I've spent five whole days.

Several footsteps came closer. They were here to pick me up from the arena. Twelve tributes, twelve pick-up teams. I felt a cold hand touching my wrist.

'Slow pulse' said somebody. 'We need to be quick. She's still alive.'

'Where's the injection needle?' asked somebody else.

'..completely frozen, come on guys…'

Some strong arms carefully picked me up and put me on a bed. They took it inside a warmer space. Then something was pushed into my chest, a needle, and I lost consciousness.

I was alone when I woke up. However, it took only seconds to realize I'd never felt better and healthier in weeks. My waist didn't hurt at all anymore – the cut completely healed. It was warm, nice and my fever was gone. My mind was clear. I felt strong.

I laid on a bed in a dark room with only a television and a door. In the corner laid my stuff – my backpack and the golden bathing suit Chase had sent me. Why the heck a bathing suit?

A remote laid next to me. I picked it up and pressed a random button. I shook when the television popped on.

'Tribute' Head Gamemaker Pillano was speaking directly to me on the screen 'you just woke up – before you will take your next step to eternal glory, we thought it would be nice to show you a documentary. We arrived here at District 31, where you're about to fight in something we call 'The Colloseum'. You see, several millennia ago, a people called the Romans built an arena on this exact spot, where two people had to fight to the death. We built an exact replica, and guess what you will do in an instant?'

It was absolutely sickening. The Head Gamemaker disappeared and the documentary begun.

'This is a special production from Head City television. Thirty-two contestants started in the wilderness in District 15, and now only twelve of them made it to District 31 where six will proceed to the next round!'

The voice-over talked about the tributes and their Districts. My name was quickly mentioned once, but I forgot about that when they also talked about Lisa. She made it!

The documentary showed various Districts, but District 28 was something to remember. I never bothered learning anything about the society in East, but it was truly the poorest and most miserable District I'd ever seen. Even 12, the poorest in Panem, was nothing compared to this. Children carried weapons around and finished each other off sometimes. The escaped Eastern Warriors girl came from here.

I also saw Stavros in action. Rebecca didn't exaggerate, he was really a freak. He killed a tribute and ate his victim's hand after that. I shuddered and wanted to turn the television off, but then the president spoke on television.

'Attention, tributes. Please make your way outside'

I got out of the room, anxious and scared but stronger than I'd ever felt before. I entered a light, small hall with huge windows on one side. I looked out of the windows – and my heart sunk to my feet. I could see a sand pit, about fifty by fifty, surrounded by high galleries, where many people were sitting. I could tell by the dress they were from the Head City. They looked exited. So this was the arena, the Colloseum. I would be entering the sand pit anytime soon. This was not good.

Several people were already in the hall. When I saw Lisa, a ran to her and hugged her.

'Indy!' she said 'You're alive too!'. I nodded. 'I'm so scared' I said.

'Me too. My legs are kinda weak. I guess this is it, right?' she said.

'Yes. The end of our adventure.'

It was actually. I had thought about possible opponents. I didn't want to be in the arena with Lisa or Rebecca, or Mason or Poppy or Stavros. So less choice left. And the people who survived District fifteen were probably not the weakest.

'Hi' said someone. Lisa and I turned around and we saw Poppy.

'What are you doing here?' asked Lisa in disgust.

'Thought I'd say hello' she answered coldly.

'Go away if you don't want me to kill you…yet.' I said. I was amazed by my own words.

Poppy looked offended, but probably recovered quickly and she walked away.

'Who the hell does she think she is? She probably wants to mock us before we die.' I said.

'Well, would you kill her?' asked Lisa.

'Don't know' I said 'Probably if I had a fair chance. I mean, she killed Annie! Can you believe that?'

'I still can't' she said.

'Hello everyone' said a man in a white uniform who entered the room. 'I'm here to inform you about everything.' Behind him appeared two men who were both holding a lot of weapons. Long swords and sharp knives. I became a bit sick.

'In pairs you will enter the arena, in the order I am going to call. When you hear your name, you will come over here and get your weapons: a sword and a knife. You will fight, and the winner will come here again and wait 'till the other fights are over. Then the six remaining will go into the arena again to receive some praise from the audience and the president. You know that a ticket for this events costs so much money you could buy a car?'

'Great' whispered Lisa.

'First pair: Liam, District 33, and Indiana, District 4'

I looked up. Was I the first to enter the arena? This wasn't possible, this wasn't good, I would be the first to die! I wouldn't be able to support Lisa, or anyone else…nightmare.

My opponent, Liam, turned out to be a long, skinny, red-haired sixteen year old from District 33. He was probably fatherless, because almost 70% of the grown-up male population of District 33 died in the twenty years of war against District 1. And now he was about to become a murderer himself, unless he already killed in the first arena or the maze.

I took my weapons. The sword was even sharper than I expected.

The next pair was Poppy and a boy from District 12 I'd never seen before. He looked like he was about to pee in his pants. I would look the same, probably.

Emmerick versus the Eastern Warrior girl, whose name turned out to be Sofia. She was probably the youngest of us all, maybe fourteen.

The fourth pair was Mason and a guy from District 7.

Then it was Lisa's turn. She had to fight against a dark-haired girl from District 26.

I knew who were left. I was happy when I noticed Rebecca also made it (meaning she didn't die at the feast). She was last to fight…against Stavros.

She looked at me in such a miserable way I wanted to turn my head away because it was so sad. I didn't know what to do: smile, look neutral, look sad.

'I'll see you soon' I said to Lisa. She had tears in her eyes.

'Yes. I'll see you.'

I embraced her, and when my name was called, I let her go. 'Take care!' I said, while walking to the entrance to the arena sand pit. Liam stood next to me. He wasn't the strongest, but definitely stronger than me. He turned to me, and surprisingly, he shook my hand.

'Good luck' he said.

'May the odds be ever in your favor' I said with a stone expression on my face, while my head was filled with many emotions. The doors opened and the sun shined on my face. I took a deep breath and entered the sand pit. We walked to the center while the people on the galleries were cheering so loud my eyes hurt. They had to be with over fifty thousand. It was all a blur.

'Welcome' said the president, who raised 'welcome everyone gathered here at this marvelous event! In an hour we will know the contestants of the semi-finals, which will take place in District 30 in a few days! We salute everyone's bravery and especially Liam's and Indiana's, who are now standing in front of us, ready to compete against each other in a journey to eternal glory and fame. May the odds ever be in your favor and may the best win!'

**Yay, new chapter! I won't be very busy next week so I might update soon :)**


	30. Two Losts

This was the moment where I had to decide between killing and to be killed. And although I wasn't ready for both, I knew there was actually just one option: the first one.

Liam and I started moving. The sand floor was hot and it was difficult to walk or move fast. We circled around each other, weapons ready, waiting for a good moment to attack. The people on the galleries were remarkably quiet. My heart was bouncing, but I was only slightly afraid of what was going to happen is this went all wrong. I think it's called 'adrenaline rush.'

I had to do something to become more vicious. Think, think.

While I was concentrating on my opponent and making up a strategy at the same time, he attacked, but missed. I ran away, he followed me and attacked again. His sword missed me by a centimeter. I turned around and tried to stab him, but he was long gone.

Then he suddenly stood in front of me and now it was all about sword-fighting. It was very hard and I knew I would lose. Sword fighting always looked awesome on television, but doing it yourself was a nightmare. I tried to escape and succeeded – he lost his balance for a moment but then chased me through the sand again.

I suddenly thought about the girl Alex always had music lessons with. She was talented, pretty and obviously flirting with him. I hated her so much because of my paranoid jealousy. I looked into Liams eyes and imagined that girl's face on his body. Maybe it would help me to kill him. However, I lost focus and he hit me. The first hit in the fight. It wasn't very severe, just a cut in my arm.

I remembered the girl again, grabbed my sword and stabbed his leg so fast he didn't realize it until he saw his pants were coloring dark red at the spot I hit him. He looked at me with a painful expression on his face, but I knew I had to be hard as stone and I did a few steps backwards, waiting for one of his moves. This was nerve-wracking. Too nerve-wracking for anyone in District 4. The fight wasn't decided yet, which surprised me. I wasn't dead yet.

Suddenly I saw other people sitting next to the president on the galleries, and I recognized one of them.

Chase.

I didn't have the time to wonder, because a silver lightning hit my hand. Liam had thrown his knife at me and cut my hand. When I looked at it, I almost had to vomit.

My whole hand was covered in blood and it hurt like shit. The knife cut off a piece of one of my fingers.

I heard Liam laughing while I tried to walk to him and fight him with my sword, half blinded by pain. Now the adrenaline rush had reached its climax. I didn't feel any fear, I just had one goal. And that was to eliminate the threat.

The sound of sword fighting filled the air and I felt stronger than before. Somehow I managed to prick Liam in his hand with my sword, which caused him to drop his. I bowed down at top speed, grabbed his sword and ran across the sand pit. His arms tried to clutch my neck. He tried to strangle me. I was just running out of air when my fingers felt the knife in my pocket. I took it and stabbed his arms. He let me go. He was unarmed, because I had his sword and his knife laid behind me. He probably realized there was nothing left to do but run, but when he turned around and set a few steps, my knife pierced in his back. He fell down and didn't move. He wasn't dead yet, because he was still breathing.

It was hard to realize I was winning. I was winning, making it to the semifinals, the final six.

'Kill, kill, kill' sang the audience. I knew Chase was still watching and I hoped he would finally be proud of me if I obeyed the people on the galleries. Doing what I was destined to do the moment I entered the maze.

Kill.

The moment was there, I couldn't refuse to do it. I was about to take a life.

My hands were shaking while I raised the sword and I closed my eyes to think about home, where I might be soon. It was a shock. The chance of going home doubled after what I was about to do. And with that thought in my mind, I penetrated my opponents body.

The audience exploded of joy, but everything was terribly silent in my head.

I really did it.

I was…happy.

'Congratulations to our first victor, Indiana, District 4!' said the president.

The next thing I remember is sitting on a chair in the same hall I was before entering the arena. Doctors were treating my hand while Lisa held my other hand.

'You made it!' she said admiringly 'You survived!'

'I killed a person' I murmured.

'Yes, but you will be in the next round!'

I smiled and nodded, but became afraid when I thought about the fact that Lisa would be in the arena soon. I looked out of the windows and saw Poppy was just entering the arena along with her opponent, the boy from District 12. The fight was probably not going to be long and fair.

I kept replaying the moment I murdered Liam in my head. Thank God he fell face down, so I wouldn't have to see his expressions. And so I sat there for a moment, while comforting Lisa, who became more silent while the minutes passed. And after a minute or so, the audience's noise could be heard from here. I looked up and saw Poppy holding up a single head. That demon beheaded her enemy. I looked away, totally disgusted. I secretly hoped the 12 boy would help us to get rid of her, but he failed and now I had to face her in the next round. And although I hated her now with all my heart, I wouldn't be able to kill her because she'd been my best friend for so long. But then again, she killed Annie.

'I have to go soon' said Lisa 'Emmerick and Sofia are already fighting. It's going fast.'

'Yes' I said, while I tried not to cry 'You can do it. You are my best friend now.'

'Thank you. I hope you win, I hope Mason doesn't win.'

'Yeah, that would be a shame' said a sarcastic, dark voice. He was standing behind us.

'Fuck off' I bitched to him.

'You know why I didn't finish you off in the arena, that time with your other friend, Annie? Because Poppy told me not to.' He sounded like he regretted it 'Yeah, she threw the knife, but it wasn't really a serious try to kill you. I offered to finish her job, but she declined.'

I ignored him. I didn't want to listen to his words.

'And by the way, we went all the way the last night in the Head City.'

'Okay, SHUT UP!' shouted Lisa 'Go annoy someone else with your dirty talk!'

Mason smiled, turned around and walked away while caressing his sword.

The fight between Emmerick and Sofia was interesting. He was a big, muscular blonde eighteen year old, while she was thin and small and maybe fourteen. However, they turned out to be almost equals. The way the former member of the Eastern Warriors controlled her weapons, especially the sword, was very frightening. She was an excellent fighter and he seemed to be in great surprisement and struggle to win. Sofia probably thanked her techniques from ability to defend herself while walking through her neighborhood in District 28, which was one of the poorest and most dangerous of the continent. The fight was long and bloody and horrible until it reached a turning point where they were both without weapons. Then the fight became in Emmerick's advantage because of his strength. You could probably hear the bones cracking while he snapped her neck. He was the third contestant in the semifinals.

Mason was the fourth to enter the arena, but because I didn't expect his opponent to kill him, I didn't pay attention. I tried to comfort Lisa, who was trembling. It was her turn next and her the girl she had to fight against didn't look like a weakling.

As soon as Mason killed his enemy, meaning he also placed for the next round, I embraced Lisa. 'Good luck' I whispered 'See you soon.'

All I could do was watch in horror while the fight between Lisa and the District 26 girl commenced. It wasn't a fair match at all. I felt stupid because I ignored Chase's suggestion to prepare myself for Lisa's death. Standing here and watching her fight made me realize she didn't have a chance at all. She never had.

These Games were all about strength, more than in Panem. Intelligence could help you there. Not here. All you had was your inner beast, waking up inside while facing the horrors.

My eyes filled with tears when I saw Lisa falling on the ground, unarmed and helpless. There was nothing I could do. I started seeing black spots from confusion when District 26 raised her sword, smashed it down and when she raised it again, the blade was red.

'No' I said. It wasn't over, all our times weren't over, this was a dream. Lisa wasn't dead, she was still breathing, she could stand up any moment.

But she didn't and would never will.

'No! Lisa!' I cried, and kicked the doctors treating my hand away in anger. 'It's not true! Why isn't anybody helping her? Please, help her!' I knew I sounded ridiculous.

'Welcome to the 1st New Continent Games, honey' said a storm trooper.

The remaining tributes in the room looked annoyed by my whining.

'Indy' said a soft voice. It was Rebecca. I turned around and embraced her while crying.

'It's gonna be OK' she said 'She's safe now, somewhere where she can't be harmed, together with your other friends.' It was baby talk, but it helped.

'Thank you for all that you've done' I said with a trembling voice 'I don't think I can thank you in an appropriate way because I'm such a whiny, selfish, weak bitch. I never meant to offend you – good luck with your fight!'

'Thanks' she said, while walking slowly to the entrance from the arena 'Take care.'

Stavros was already waiting for her, looking as insane as always and admiring his weapons.

Just when I thought I wasn't able to experience more horrors, it turned out I actually was.

Her lifeless body fell down in the sand after a minute or three. Stavros screamed something in the Eastern language, sank on his knees and started to carve figures in her skin with his knife. He had killed her with his sword, he had killed my last rock and last ally.

This time I didn't feel sad. No tears. Nothing.

Just a red blur in front of my eyes and a strange, furious anger that wanted blood. I wanted to see Stavros' blood and I was going to get it. I killed once, so why not kill twice?

The person who killed my last loved person was going to pay for this. I was going to hunt Stavros down in the next arena, it didn't matter how long it would take.

All that mattered was my search for revenge on Rebecca, who deserved it. It was my only way to thank her enough.

**Sorry it took a long time to update :0 As a treat, you can PM me if you want a spoiler :) I won't be updating before monday, because it's almost my birthday (October 7th) and I'm busy with that too!**


	31. Confrontation

So this was it. Just moments after Stavros wan the sixth fight, they brought the remaining six tributes to another hovercraft. It was me, Poppy, Mason, Emmerick, Stavros and the girl from District 26 who killed Lisa. I didn't dare to look her in the eyes. All I could do was hate her with all my heart, just like I hated every other tribute except Emmerick. He was the only one who hadn't hurt my feelings yet.

And now I was pushed into a cabin in the hovercraft which would take us to District 30. The journey would be long, so the cabin was quite comfortable, with some couches and a television. It was silent because every tribute had his or her own cabin.

I was confused by my thoughts while I sat down. They were disturbing but satisfying at the same time. I wanted to kill Stavros so badly I felt an urge to stab the couch a few times. We were allowed to bring anything we owned by the time we were taken out of the first arena, into the semi-finals arena. I didn't possess much. Some clothes and a simple knife, which was going to be my murder weapon. Yes, I was totally ready to commit the murder.

I stared at the bathing suit I received on the last day in the first arena. I had no idea why I got it, but I would take it with me in the arena. Wait. The arena.

Every piece fell into its place. Suddenly it was so clear.

Water. The new arena had to do something with water. Chase knew it and sent me the bathing suit, hoping that I would get the hint. O, Jesus. Images of gigantic octopuses and sharks passed in front of my eyes. Dark depths, more dangers. I was a good swimmer, but out in the sea, it was just scary. My body was trembling from top to toe.

'Here it is' said a voice. I turned around and saw that a servant had opened the cabin's door.

'Thank you' said another voice. It was familiar. Too familiar.

Poppy.

'The hovercraft will be leaving in ten minutes.' Said the servant, and he disappeared.

I was frozen. She also stared at me. That moment seemed to last forever.

'What the fuck' I eventually said.

'Er – we're from the same District, so we have to share the space.' She answered.

'What a sick joke' I said, and I turned my back to her. I grabbed a Head City magazine from the coffee table – it had Mason and Emmerick on the cover, with a note saying 'Battle of the muscles'- and I started to pretend reading.

She narrowed her eyes, sat down and did nothing. A few minutes later, the floor vibrated and the hovercraft started moving. We were making our way to District 30.

This was complete crap. I expected this to be a peaceful time, with only my murderous mind to accompany me, and plenty of occasion to think of a good plan for the semifinals. They were probably expecting that two people would proceed to the finale, so I had to make sure I was one of them, but at the same time, I had to eliminate Stavros.

But now I had to pass some awkward moments with Poppy.

I did peek at her though, while pretending to read my magazine. She didn't look well. Pale and thinner than before, although she had plenty to eat in the arena. It was sad to look at, but I couldn't help replaying Annie's death in my head. It made me simply furious.

'Indiana' she eventually said 'you have to talk to me'.

I said nothing and ignored her.

'You don't understand.' She continued and I sighed annoyed.

'There is nothing to understand. Now please shut up and help me trying to make this less awkward. Just continue with your own killer thoughts, and I will keep mine for myself too.'

It felt…good to be mean. It was awesome. Why didn't I discover this before?

Gosh, I wanted to kill some people.

'Three weeks ago, we were best friends.' She said.

'You see this?' I suddenly screamed, and I waved my injured hand, the one that had the stump of my finger 'If you had thrown that knife a little bit better in the arena, my corpse would have been beautiful and complete! Now it misses a body part! And by the way, was it fun, exploring Masons body? Is he good? Well, well?'

She seemed upset. 'I just wanted…I love him, Indy.' She said 'Just like you love Alex.'

It was like she punched me in the face.

It was like I became literally crazy with anger. I knew she was stronger than me and could beat me up any time, but I still stood up, grabbed the front of her shirt and whispered: 'Don't…ever…compare you and him to me and Alex.'

Then I dropped her. 'Don't start pretending you are regretting everything. You fucked up. You need to see your priorities. You don't because otherwise you would have broken your alliance with Mason a long time ago. You made it into the final six, honey. One of you will have to die. They had two winners only once, and they will regret it the rest of their stupid lives in Panem. Jesus, are you that dumb? I thought you were always so smart'

It looked like she was thinking. Eventually she murmured: 'You're right'.

'You have to kill him.' I said coldly.

'Would you be able to kill Alex?' she cried. All the ice was gone. The wall she built around her the past weeks had completely melted.

'I'll finish Mason off myself if you don't do it' I said 'and you're next on my list then!'

She was silent.

Moments passed. After an hour or so, the television popped on.

'Hello tributes. We will land in two hours. The following will be the only information you get on the semifinals.' The screen was black, but a mechanic voice spoke to us.

'As soon as we land, you'll enter the preparation room and you'll be given ten minutes to prepare. When you go into the arena by tube, you will see a forest. Run into this forest. The goal is to reach District 30's sea, which will be at 50 minutes running distance. I warn you, the arena is completely closed so there's no way of escaping, nor in the forest, nor in the sea.

When you arrive at the beach, you'll see something that will help you to breath under water for one hour. One hour only. However, this can be different. I will explain it now.

As soon as the first tribute arrives at the beach, a timer starts ticking. If the second arrives five minutes after the first one, this tribute will only have fifty-five minutes breathing time left. You understand? So be quick, because you will be responsible for the number of time you have to breath under water. Once you go underwater, you can't go up again to get air, because we will blow you up.

But then again, this are the semifinals. Only two will proceed to the finals. I hope it's clear that four of you have to die. If not, we will find another way to make sure two remain. We might even invite your family to a lovely bloodbath. Success. And above all, may the odds be ever in your favor.'

For a moment I felt like the old me. Timid and shy. The endless depths of the dark sea. But then I remembered my bathing suit. That would give me a huge advantage. Maybe I had a chance. On this close to the big finale all I wanted was win. And there was only one way to achieve victory. By killing.

Poppy opened her mouth, but I waved my hand. 'Shut up'

I spent the rest of the journey half sleeping and half thinking of a theory. Poppy was staring at me all the time, angry, scared, amused and shy at the same time. I finally felt superior to her, something I'd never experienced before. It felt great.

And now I was in the preparation room. It looked identical to the one from the first arena. The only difference was that now I was alone and two weeks ago Panther was with me.

I missed him. His dumbness, superficiality and innocence.

My strategy was simple. I would simply follow Stavros for a while until the other tributes  
were far, far away and then I would attack with my knife. I was afraid of his strange behavior, but strangely enough it didn't matter enough to stop me. Then, after the deed, I would make my way to the ocean and hope that I would encounter the girl from 26. She killed Lisa and she had to die too.

Lisa, Annie, Sophie, Gabriella. I missed them so much. Maybe I was dead in a few hours, maybe not. Then I would die as a hero.

I put the bathing suit on under my clothes. Then I shook because a voice announced that I had one minute left.

I grabbed my knife, walked to the tube and waited for it to close. I was anxious when it did. The floor began to ascend and my head popped into the arena, followed by my body.

The six of us stood in a half circle in front of a forest. It was very hot and the sun burned on my face. Mason was on my left, ready to run, and the others were on my right. Stavros was two plates away. I stroked my knife. He would be dead soon.

'Three, two, one'

The semifinals had begun.

**Yay, happy birthday to me :) Thanks to the people who congratulated me by PM, here's a new chapter for you.**


	32. Victory and Horrors

I didn't step of my platform immediately. I had to focus, where was everyone going?

Poppy and Mason had already disappeared in the woods, followed by the girl from District 26. Then I saw Stavros, who also entered the forest, but on another side. I hid my fear, took a breath and started sprinting. Emmerick appeared out of nowhere and threw an axe at me, but his try wasn't very enthusiastic, so he ran away too.

Stavros jumped over some bushes and vanished. I followed him. He didn't seem to notice. He was just running. My heart was bouncing while I kept my eyes on him. He was going full-speed, there was about a hundred meter between us. Now it was time for my endurance to make progress. I knew I wasn't able to sprint for more than a few minutes, so I hoped he would slow down. I didn't care about the stupid time limit in the sea. This had more priority.

Luckily he did slow down after a while and after a minute or ten he started walking. Sometimes (and that were moments when I could jump in the air from fear) he suddenly screamed something in the Eastern Language. He still didn't notice I was following him.

At a certain moment my future victim stopped walking, threw a few knives on the ground and sat down with his back against a tree. If I managed to get those knives, he would be unarmed.

But then again, I knew that sometimes in Panem some tributes were very good at hand-to-hand combat. Some of those fights even killed someone. I remembered this woman from the 62nd Games, who ripped someone's throat with her teeth. I shuddered, ducked behind a bush and observed Stavros from a distance. I just had to remember that moment he killed Rebecca. I had to remember that feeling I felt while realizing I wan my face-to-face fight, killing someone. Victory was something great, and I had to experience it again.

I jumped out of the bushes, reached for his knives and jumped on top of a surprised Stavros. He smiled while I put the knife on his throat.

He said something in the Eastern Language and laughed. He repeated it and winked. I was confused and pressed the knife even closer to his neck. Suddenly his look changed and he threw me off his body, screaming. I rolled a meter and felt one of the knives pricking in my back. I wanted to raise, but he jumped on top of me and his nose was a centimeter away from mine when he started tickling my neck with his finger. I was frozen with anger and fear, but had no idea what to do. He was absolutely mad, mental even. However, the tickling caused me to laugh, one way or another. That seemed to infuriate him. He pointed at the sky, said something in the language I didn't understand and.

'You are insane!' I cried, panicking. If he was able to get a knife, I would die just as horrible as his other victims.

'No, I not insane' he said with a hard to understand, heavy accent 'You dead. I win' he laughed again and kicked me in my stomach. The pain was excruciating, but I couldn't move because my legs were trapped in his.

I tried to reach for a knife, but my hands were trembling.

'You dead, just like brown hair girl.' He said.

I shouted furiously when I understood his hint about Rebecca, threw him off me, grabbed a knife out of nowhere and slit his throat. Blood poured out of his mouth and splashed on my clothes. He turned around and reached for my neck, but fell down before he could even come close to me. He stopped moving within seconds. The cannon went off.

'Face the music, mental creep' I said. I pulled the knife out of his body and felt an urge to hurt him again. The color red attracted me for a strange reason. Seeing me was probably scary – the preppy school girl, nice to everyone and always looking clean. Now I was a serial killer, covered in blood and holding a murder weapon still dropping with my latest victims blood.

And it felt good.

I felt strangely satisfied while I turned around, started walking and knew I had a problem now. I had to go to the sea immediately. Maybe I had only half an hour left. And still three more people had to die. Me, Emmerick, Poppy, the District 26 girl or Mason.

I walked to the north. The sun was shining and I was following a wide path. It was probably safe, because all the others were probably in the sea. I felt the warmth and felt happy. I even had a little energy to take a sprint. My mood was extremely good.

Suddenly something sizzled by my foot. I looked down, fearing snakes or other vermin, but saw nothing. I poked the ground with my foot, and heard the hissing sound again. Then I saw something burnt a hole in my shoe, at the spot I touched the ground. I shook. What had happened? I kneeled, observed the forest ground and saw a vague gloss. It was well hidden under many leafs, branches and sand. I became suspicious, looked at my hand with four and an half fingers, hesitated and then touched the place where my shoe touched the ground.

'Ah! Shit!' I saw a blister appearing on my hand at the place I touched the gloss. It looked like my skin melted a little bit. What was there on the ground? Was it some sort of fleece that dissolved anything it touched? How big was it? Was it safe to walk further?

I heard a noise and looked up. This was just stupid. Moments after a conflict ended, another one was ready.

There she was. The girl from 26. She looked furious and scared me to death with her long, messy black hair and dark eyes. She carried a sword.

For the first time in what seemed like ages, I was afraid. I stood up and didn't move.

She looked just as crazy as Stavros, but she wasn't smiling. Oh, God. I wasn't able to beat her in a fight. She killed Lisa. I'd never seen her in the preliminaries or District 15, nor at the time we spent at the Head City between them. I didn't know her name.

She was about fifty meters away. And suddenly I knew what to do.

I slowly walked backwards and put on a smile. 'Come on' I said.

She seemed confused, but did a step forwards. I looked at the ground tensely. If that 'fleece' was big enough, she would step on it sooner or later. I knew it was a horrible way to die, but it could save me. She just had to keep walking forward…

'Yeah, good' I said 'Come on, I know you want it.' And I walked on.

She threw her hair in her neck and did a few big steps. She was ten meters away from the place where I burnt myself. Just a few more steps, which she eventually took.

It was absolutely horrible to see. More terrific than any other death I'd witnessed so far. The moment she stepped on the fleece, her foot burned, melted, dissolved. She lost her balance quickly because she was so surprised and fell with her whole body on the fleece. She cried so helplessly I closed my eyes and tried to ignore it. She rolled and rolled, but it only became worse. Big parts of her skin disappeared and the raw flesh became visible. A few seconds later, she stopped moving. The cannon went off.

I was crying, I couldn't help it. This was too much for me. I had to get out of here and watch the ground at all time. What a horrible thing the Gamemakers put in this arena. This was just too horrible. I took another path and ran as fast as I could to the sea.

Fifteen minutes later I arrived at the beach. I was still trembling because of all the horrible things I saw. I took my clothes off so I was only wearing the bathing suit and I was thanking Chase with all my heart for this gift. I saw a table and ran to it.

I saw a digital alarm clock with 35 minutes left on it and three big pills with names on them. Poppy's, Masons and Emmericks were already gone. Stavros and the girl from 26 would never come to get their pill and I was here now, so I picked up mine and looked at it for a second. This probably made me able to go without air for 35 minutes. We had them too in District 4, but they were only used by divers.

I swallowed the pill.

Nothing happened, so I assume I had to dive into the water and wait for the misery to begin. I noticed another pile of clothes, which were probably Poppy's. Mason and Emmerick were down there in the deep with all their clothes on.

The water was warm and felt good. I knew that the moment my head went under water, I couldn't come up again because they would blow me up.

Just two more to go until the final: me, Emmerick, Mason or Poppy.

**Hey everyone, sorry for the late update, I was busy with school (scored three times a 1 for my greek language test: a rehersal test, the actual one and the resit test :(. In the Netherlands, tests are rated on a scale from one to ten, where one is the worst and ten the best).**

**Next chapter features a different pov!**


	33. A different point of view

It was beautiful. It was light and warm under water. The ground was pearl white and covered with gorgeous shells. Several groups of multi colored fish swam by. I was overwhelmed – I'd never seen something like this. I lived close to the sea in District 4, but that was a grey, cold sea with nothing but seaweed. This was another world.

I was staring at the fish, but then I realized that this were the New Games. Maybe they were carnivore, poisonous fish which wanted to eat me. I swam away.

It was weird, to have access to air under water. I didn't know how those pills worked, but it was awesome. The water pressure wasn't bothering me either.

The deeper in the sea I got, the scarier it became. It became darker, colder and less beautiful. I had to find someone to kill. I committed two murders in a couple of days, so why not another one? These Games had turned me into a beast, a mad animal. I was just somewhat later than Poppy.

How much time was left? I was swimming and swimming, but I didn't see anyone. Two people had to die within like, twenty minutes? Or horrible things would happen.

I suddenly saw a pair of legs disappear behind a large rock. My heart was bouncing quick and I dove behind another one. I didn't know who that was – probably Emmerick. We were very deep and it was dark, so I wasn't sure. My fingers found the knife I kept under the belt of my swimsuit. It was now or never. If I managed to reach the finals, I'd have a big chance to _win_.

I peeked over my rock and saw a familiar head doing the same. I was right, it was Emmerick. My thoughts were feverish. How was I going to do this? I wasn't planning his death, now it was the time to improvise. But oh my God, he was huge.

Emmerick was wearing all his clothes. They were slowing him down. I noticed he wasn't wearing a weapon, but he was way stronger than me. We stared at each other a while. I wondered what he thought about me. I bet he didn't even know I existed. I was always the ordinary tribute, walking around in the forest or being half dead. Secretly I was thinking that I wouldn't die as an ordinary person now – my name would be in history books.

If I wan this fight.

We started circulating around each other, but when I tried to attack him, he moved so fast bubbles were everywhere. I was disoriented for a moment. If he attacked me now, I'd be screwed.

However, he didn't. He heard something I heard to. It was highly recognizable, even a hundred meters under water.

The cannon just went off. Someone died. I stared at Emmerick again and he stared at me, but we concluded that none of us suddenly died. Poppy or Mason was dead. One of them.

My whole world changed. One of them wasn't there anymore. Either it was Mason, who had been the main threat, who always seemed so confident. These Games wouldn't be these Games if he wasn't around anymore.

Or it was Poppy. My former best friend.

Then I remembered what I had to do. Just one more kill, and I would be in the finals. I threw my knife at Emmericks heart, but because we were under water it missed his chest and landed in his arm.

He shook and bubbles came out of his mouth. He pulled the knife out of his arm while he looked at me with an expression that said: 'do we have to?'

Shit. Now he had the knife. It was weird, seeing the red blood that poured out of his arm leaking into the blue water of the sea. It looked like a chemistry experiment.

I slowly swam backwards while he raised the knife and I wanted to close my eyes, but waited when I saw that his eyes widened. More bubbles came out of his mouth, maybe he tried to scream. I looked over my shoulder, fearing everything.

It was worse.

The biggest mutts I'd ever seen were swimming to us. They were so fast they looked like lightning. I narrowed my eyes to see what they were.

Sharks. They were huge. Their teeth were sharp, their bodies enormous. I dove down, to the ground. I was smart enough to figure out they didn't want me. They had smelled Emmerick's blood. However, I would make a nice dessert. I had to get out of here. And while I saw the sharks dove on Emmerick, I swam as fast as I can to the surface, hoping the cannon would go off before I'd reach it. And it did. Halfway through I heard the familiar sound, the big bang, which meant I was in the finals. The final two.

Fresh, cold air hit my face as soon as I made it to the surface. It felt marvelous, like I'd never breathed air before. I was quite far away from the coast, so I had to swim a few hundred meters with the last bit of energy I'd got left. The sharks already haunted my thoughts, while the attack was only a minute ago. Was I responsible for Emmericks death? I hoped not.

As I came closer to the shore, I saw someone laying on the beach. My opponent for the finale. My last kill.

It was Poppy.

**Ceasar Flickerman P.O.V.**

'And…cut to camera 5!'

Head Gamemaker Pillano's sharp voice filled the control room. The ambiance in the room had been tense for the last hours. The closer we came to the grand finale, the more nervous everyone got. I was glad I wasn't a Gamemaker, working all day long with those complicated panels and cameras.

I had spent the last days in this room. No more television or commentary – my colleagues could handle it perfectly well. I was fascinated by these Games. They were thrilling and more exciting than they ever were in Panem, but sometimes I wondered if they weren't a bit too cruel. And now, looking at the big screens, I became a little bit sick at the sight of Emmerick being torn apart by sharks. I liked him when I interviewed him a week or two ago.

'Excellent' said Pillano 'Get the cannon ready, everyone, and switch to camera 2'

I couldn't help it and watched how the mutts ripped the boy apart. When the long, monotonous beep which indicated his death sounded through the room, a woman pushed a button and the cannon went off.

'Great! Well done, everybody!' announced Pillano. Everyone started cheering and applauding and congratulating. I walked to Pillano and shook his hand.

'Good job, Franq. And may the finals be great. Isn't it extraordinaire, that two people from the same District will have to fight each other? I wasn't expecting anything like it!' I said.

He laughed. 'Thanks, Ceasar. Well, maybe we helped a little tiny bit.'

I stopped shaking his hand and dropped mine. 'What?'

'How amazing is it that two friends are in the finals? This was an excellent opportunity to eliminate Emmerick, that's why we put those hideous sharks in. Did you see how ugly they were? We didn't have much time to design them. Well, Indiana would escape and then she would be in the finale along with Poppy. Mason was already dead.' He explained.

'You can't be serious.' I said.

' Oh, come on, that girl deserves to be in the finale. She got rid of Stavros for us. We couldn't let Emmerick kill her, that would be a waste. I think we liked the frenemy story so much we wanted to end it with a finale. Literally.' He laughed. When he saw my face, he turned to his assistant.

'Oh come on, everyone loves it! Sharpa, show mr. Flickerman the live broadcasts'

His assistant showed me some places on a screen. The first thing I saw was a big square, filled with fireworks and an excited, cheering crowd. They were all screaming the names of the finalists. _Head City Main Square. _

The next live footage was all the way from the Capitol. It was the same image – people freaking out from excitement.

'What about the Districts?' I asked him. Pillano raised an eyebrow. 'Who cares about a couple of farmers in the East? All that matters is we've broken all the records with these awesome games!' he said 'and if you do not agree, you just have to go back to Panem, where everything's way more peaceful and innocent. Wake up, sir. These aren't the Hunger Games. We are all part of the New Games now.'

After all those weeks I still didn't know if I liked him or not. I mean, of course these games were genius. I loved them. It was just…the first time I felt it may be a bit too much. I realized it when I saw that District 26 girl, Matilda, dying because of the Dissolving Fleece. When I heard they were planning to put one in the semifinals arena, I protested, but they didn't listen to me. I was just the stupid Game host, who didn't understand anything about arena design. Well, I may be old, but I'm wiser than all of them.

My assistant, Susan, handed me my schedule of the following days. The finale would be the day after tomorrow. However, first there was a big party tonight. At least that was something to look forward too.

**Yes, a different P.O.V! This will also be the case in the last chapter, which happens to be the next one!**


	34. The Victor

**Ceasar Flickerman P.O.V**

For the first time in two weeks I had a free afternoon. I got into my car and my chauffeur drove me to my villa outside the City. My main residence was in the Capitol, but the Head City was kind enough to offer me a brand new house. I must admit, it was pretty impressive.

I told the staff to leave me alone with my glass of wine. I would do nothing but relax, watch some television and prepare a bit for tonight's party. While I made my way to the drawing room, I noticed the Head City was kind enough to decorate the walls with many pictures and posters – me while presenting a show, me with almost every living victor, me with any important person. You could literally see my ageing. Luckily it wasn't as bad as it should be because of the excellent plastic surgery here. I was almost seventy years old, but I looked like forty.

I sat down and turned the TV on. It was the same as always. Some repeats of shows I did earlier, lots of programmes on the finale. I stopped at a channel where they broadcasted all semifinals deaths. I was most terrified by Matilda's, but Masons amazed me the most. What a shame, what a tragic ending to the arena romance. He and Poppy were swimming together, but suddenly she hit his head with a heavy rock. He seemed unconscious, but when she was looking for something to finish him off, he opened his eyes, put his hands around her throat and tried to strangle her. She freed herself, hit him again and this time he really passed out. She knew they had only minutes left under water – their breathing time was almost up. She hit him again, this time a little blood was on the stone. She probably hoped that he wouldn't wake up before they ran out of breath, so he would drown. She kissed his forehead, looked like she was about to cry and swam away. And that's how it ended.

It was just surreal. They had been a couple for so long, in Game terms. And one hit of a rock caused them to turn against each other. They probably realized this alliance wouldn't last any longer. However, it really seemed like they were regretting it. Well, it was all said and done and she made it to the finals and he didn't.

We had interviewed Masons parents a couple of days before the semifinals. His father said he couldn't be more proud of his son and his little brother said he wished to volunteer if possible as soon as he was sixteen. And they were both convinced they would see him back.

Well, 160 pairs of parents were at the beginning of the Games. I wasn't sure I wanted to host the Games again next year. Probably yes.

The party was hosted by one of the richest men in the Head City. Almost every important person would attend it, including the president and the president of Panem, Snow the second.

A servant led me to the VIP section, where I sat down on a soft couch, sipping from blue drink an avox had served me. I shook many people's hands. They asked me about my thoughts on the finale, who I thought would win and more. Two impressive portraits of Poppy and Indiana decorated the walls. The music was loud, the people happy. Everyone was happy.

'Flickerman, how good to see you!' said a familiar voice. It was Snow the second.

'President' I said 'It's a privilege to see you too. How are you?'

'Great, couldn't be better. I can sit down here, I assume? I brought some people.' He announced. Our president Bustach stood behind him, and head Gamemaker and Secretary-General Pillano too. I greeted the last one a bit colder than I normally did.

'What a wonderful evening' said president Bustach 'great party. I really enjoyed your show yesterday'

'Thank you' I said 'We're expecting around two billion viewers around the world for the finale. Most from Panem and our Continent, of course, but I've also spoken to the president of the survival project in New Asia. They've recently discovered a way to get electricity and they will be watching two.'

The survival project was a cooperation from the Head City and the Capitol, to repopulate parts of the world again. Up until just month ago it was a huge failure, simply because survival in New Asia wasn't possible. However, they've recently made big progress.

We were silent for a while and stared at the party people, until another familiar face appeared.

'Johanna Mason!' I said 'lovely to see you! You travelled all the way from Panem?'

'Yeah' she said. She was a woman in her forties who had once won the Hunger Games, when they were still popular. 'You know, I thought it would be very interesting to see what the finale will be like. I think-' she started whispering 'that Indiana girl is using my tactic to win. Act weak, and reveal yourself in the last phase.'

'Oh, I don't know' I answered 'but it's possible. Please sit down.'

She greeted both presidents and the Head Gamemaker and sat down. 'So, awesome Games so far, isn't it? I can't wait for the second edition!'

'We're already working on them' said Pillano 'We've already notified the Districts about the reaping day, it will be in ten months from now.'

'Good. And what do the arenas look like? Are you going to change any rules?'

'I can't tell you, ma'am' he said politely. Johanna sighed disappointed.

'So, are you going to bet? I'm putting all my money on Indiana.' She announced.

'It's going to be surprise' said president Bustach.

'Well' Pillano said slowly 'I receive regular reports on the tributes' state of health. Poppy's not well. She doesn't want to eat and is physically and mentally weak. She has to pay the price for that whole relationship-thing.'

'It's not good to fall in love when you're in the Games.' Said Johanna, shaking her head 'It ended badly for those two from the 74th Games too.'

We nodded.

'So, how are the odds?' I asked 'who's first, who was first in the semifinals?'

'Mason' said Pillano 'two to one. Poppy on two, three to one.'

'Emmerick was three, wasn't he?' asked president Snow.

'No' said Pillano 'Stavros. Emmerick and Matilda were fourth place, tied. Indiana was last.'

Johanna looked surprised. 'And now?'

'Poppy's still number one, but more and more people are betting on Indiana. She's rising really fast.'

I stretched. 'Tomorrow's going to be a long day. We might have a victor by three o'clock.'

The others agreed and started a boring conversation about District 26, the only unpopulated District because it was hit by a catastrophical flood some years ago. I offered Johanna my arm and together we walked through the space, receiving loads of handshaking and stuff like that.

I was exhausted the next day. After the finale there would be numerous interviews with the winner, so it wasn't time to rest yet. I had to focus, because the finale would begin in an hour. The control room was crowded and the ambiance was very tense. The Head City was exploding with excitement. Everyone was celebrating. Indiana and Poppy were in District 15 again, because the finale would be in the first arena, but they only had access to a small part – the Cornucopia field and a small part of the forests. There would only be one weapon in the whole arena – a bow, which laid on top of the Cornucopia.

The situation in District 4 was tense.

While I was reading _Capitol Couture_, more people entered the control room. I recognized District 4's escort and mentor, Euphoria and Chase. They sat down next to me.

'Flickerman, old friend' said Chase. I could smell his breath – he had been drinking.

'Hello, Chase' I said 'Euphoria. It's a pleasure'

'Oh, I'm so excited!' she said 'Isn't it fabulous, two of our tributes in the finale? Who'd have thought that? The legendary first victor will be from District 4!'

Chase stared at her, irritated.

'Whatever' he murmured 'I hope Indiana wins. It cost me too much effort to find sponsors for her instead of Poppy. Is there something to drink?'

I pointed to an avox in the corner of the room.

Euphoria started chatting and chatting, about the journey by train and their stay at the Head City. The information was probably useful for the interviews, but I couldn't bring myself to listening. I was nervous. I pushed _Capitol Couture_ on her lap, so she would be distracted.

Chase sat down again with a glass in his hand.

I can remember his interview, twenty-five years ago, very well. He was somebody to remember: a dark, depressed and mysterious boy. Not a victor, but a decent tribute.

'I…that whole mentor thing is a bit too much. I think I won't mentor here again next year. It will be Poppy's or Indiana's job from now on. These Games are not my thing.'

'Ah, yes' I said.

The finale would start in thirty minutes.

'So, aren't you supposed to host a show or something?' he asked.

'No. After the finale it's my turn.'

Finally, five minutes before the gong would go, the Gamemakers took their seats and the cameras switched to District 15. A windy, empty field with the Cornucopia in the middle. It was the first arena. There were no objects on the ground, just a bow with some arrows, on top of the Cornucopia, like I said before.

'And…we're live!' shouted someone. The two finalists were probably waiting in their tubes. I concentrated on the screen. A Gamemaker pressed a button and two heads popped up in the field, followed by their bodies. The finalists stood on their platforms and were both staring at the Cornucopia. They looked ill and tense. The countdown began from sixty to zero.

Thirty seconds. Twenty. Ten.

'Three….two….one…GONG!' screamed the Head Gamemaker. As soon as the gong went off both girls jumped off their platforms and ran faster than I'd ever seen them do. They both started climbing the Cornucopia – one on each side. I heard some sighs of relief when Poppy did it fast. They feared she would be such a wreck that she wouldn't be able to climb the Horn. She was the one who got the bow. Indiana stared at her, angrily, and didn't move for a moment. Poppy clearly hardly knew how to manage a bow, and in the few moments she took to grab an arrow Indiana jumped on top of her and pushed her off the Cornucopia.

I sat at the tip of my chair while Poppy fell off. She bumped on the ground and groaned.

'Her leg is broken' said a Gamemaker. Chase, Euphoria and I stood up at the same moment to get a closer look at the screens.

When Indiana jumped down and took the bow from Poppy's arms, we knew we had our victor.

**Indiana P.O.V**

I hadn't got the slightest idea how I was supposed to feel. I knew it was the best idea to do it quickly and without much thought. When we were in the hovercraft, she said to me:

'I think our roles turned around. You are just as much a victor as I am.'

I'd been her friend for long enough to understand that without Mason, without Annie and without us, she would collapse as soon as she got home. And dying in the finale, with glory, was like escaping a long day by falling asleep. She needed the sleep.

I walked away, angry about everything. However, our fight was caused by both of us. When you are in these Games, it's your own decision: do you want to be friends or not? We chose not to. And no matter what she'd done, we were both multiple murderers. Now there was just one thing left to do.

Finish this. Finish this journey to 'eternal glory, wealth and fame'. Pass the finish line.

It was just one more kill.

Poppy looked at me for the last time. I looked back. I could see the faces of her victims in her eyes. Gabriella, Sophie, Annie and Lisa, who were somewhere.

'Come on' she said 'Do it. It will be a victory for District 4. That's the most important.'

'No, it's not' I said, while tears came up.

'You're a good person.' She whispered.. She was helpless and left by everyone who loved her, whether they died or not. When I looked at her leg, which was covered in blood, I knew I had to do it.

My hands were trembling when I took the bow. I never shot an arrow before, but the distance was only a few meters. I took an arrow and out it between my finger. If I shot, I would be the winner. The only survivor.

She closed her eyes and immediately I couldn't remember what color they used to be. A few weeks ago we didn't know what was going to happen to us. We were best friends. And now the Games destroyed it all. I recalled all our moments together, the sleepovers, the cakes we used to bake. It was all gone, past. Nothing would ever be the same.

I pointed the bow. Damn, how did she kill Annie? How did she manage to do it? We were both murderers indeed, but killing a friend was impossible. My hand was trembling when the arrow slipped out of my fingers and flew away.

That moment seemed to last forever. I just stood there, with my feet planted in the ground, eyes closed and listening to the birds. I didn't feel the pain anymore, which I had felt since the maze. The cannon went off and my knees became weak. I kneeled and sat down in the grass.

She was gone, because of me. I was crying. I was the victor, but I paid an horrible price.

I forgave Poppy for everything she'd done. I was just as bad as she was. Now I finally understood what she meant by doing everything to survive. This was everything.

I peeked at the body. It looked smaller than I remembered. She would have turned fifteen in January, which was probably only days away. Maybe it was Christmas by now.

I crawled to her, pulled the arrow out of her body and broke it in two. I threw it away and laid down next to her in the grass.

As soon as I came home, I would write down all the names of the people I knew in these Games – Emmerick and Lex and Peter, the boy from the puddle…

When I heard a sound I looked over my shoulder. An entrance to a dark corridor opened inside the Cornucopia.

I stood up, turned my head away from my former best friends' body and held my head up.

I had to continue living, but never forget. There was blood on my hands and I would never be able to wash it off. I had changed, I felt like thirty years old when I was only fifteen.

People were probably celebrating all over the world. Back in District 4, my family and Alex would be so happy. I thought about Poppy's family. They probably never wanted to see me again. Every step in the direction of the corridor the Cornucopia revealed became heavier. I saw every tribute's face – Rebecca, Stavros, Jiska, Wolgar, Irina, Giovanna, Liam. Every step I became closer to the press and the fame.

When the Cornucopia's shadow fell over me, I remembered something Lisa had said to me a long time ago.

'Life will always be a game, but only a true victor will understand.'

And now I understood.

**And this is where it ends. In Word, this document is 64 pages long, but the original Dutch story was 144, so I left pretty much stuff out. I wanna thank the people who reviewed me - not many, but I liked your reviews. Strange though, I got loads of views but only 12 reviews. **

**I've already begun writing a sequel, but I'm having a writer's block, so it's only 5 pages long. I'm planning to continue working on it, but it will take at least a year. It centers around the 15th New Games, when District 4 will have a second victor and Indiana's her mentor.**

**UPDATE November 25th 2012: The 15th Games idea is (for the time being) cancelled, because I'm working on the 2nd New Games! I'll probably upload the first chapters by Christmas this year, so in a month. This story will be following the next victor, who will come from District...we'll see on December 25th :)**

**Bye!**


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